tiger shark
Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) is a species of ground shark, and the only extant member of the genus Galeocerdo and family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large predator, with females capable of attaining a length of over 5 m (16 ft 5 in). Populations are found in many tropical and temperate waters, especially around central Pacific islands. Its name derives from the dark stripes down its body, which resemble a tiger's pattern and fade as the shark matures. The tiger shark is a solitary, mostly nocturnal hunter. It is notable for having the widest food spectrum of all sharks, with a range of prey that includes crustaceans, fish, seals, birds, squid, octopuses, sea turtles, sea snakes, dolphins, and even smaller sharks. It also has a reputation as a "garbage eater", consuming a variety of inedible, man-made objects that linger in its stomach. Tiger sharks have only one recorded natural predator, the orca. It is considered a near-threatened species because of finning and fishing by humans.
Wikipedia contributors, Tiger shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:54:46.141089+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822)
- Name authority
- (Péron & Lesueur, 1822)
- Common name
- tiger shark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Galeocerdonidae
- Genus
- Galeocerdo
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassSelachii
- superorderGaleomorphi
- orderCarcharhiniformes
- familyGaleocerdonidae Poey, 1875
- genusGaleocerdo Müller & Henle, 1837
- speciesGaleocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Galeocerda cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822) (Péron & Lesueur, 1822) | synonym |
| Galeocerdo arcticus (Faber, 1829) (Faber, 1829) | synonym |
| Galeocerdo tigrinis Müller & Henle, 1839 Müller & Henle, 1839 | synonym |
| Galeus maculatus Ranzani, 1839 Ranzani, 1839 | synonym |
| Galeus cepedianus Agassiz, 1838 Agassiz, 1838 | synonym |
| Galeocerdo cuvieri (Péron & Lesueur, 1822) (Péron & Lesueur, 1822) | synonym |
| Galeocerdo tigrinus Müller & Henle, 1839 Müller & Henle, 1839 | synonym |
| Carcharias hemprichii Klunzinger, 1871 Klunzinger, 1871 | synonym |
| Galeocerdo fasciatus van Kampen, 1907 van Kampen, 1907 | synonym |
| Galeocerdo obtusus Klunzinger, 1871 Klunzinger, 1871 | synonym |
| Galeocerdo rayneri Macdonald & Barron, 1868 Macdonald & Barron, 1868 | synonym |
| Squalus arcticus Faber, 1829 Faber, 1829 | synonym |
| Squalus cuvier Péron & Lesueur, 1822 Péron & Lesueur, 1822 | synonym |
| Carcharias fasciatus Bleeker, 1852 Bleeker, 1852 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105799 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3F3KT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.