Owston’s sand shark
Carcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810
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.
Sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus) off Cronulla, Australia
Bryce Watts-Parker · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), also commonly known as the spotted ragged-tooth shark in South Africa, grey nurse shark in Australia, or blue-nurse sand tiger in India, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabits the continental shelf, from sandy shorelines (hence the name sand tiger shark) and submerged reefs to a depth of around 191 m (627 ft). They dwell in the waters of Japan, Australia, South Africa, and the east coasts of North and South America. The sand tiger shark also inhabited the Mediterranean; however, it was last seen there in 2003 and is presumed extirpated. Despite its common names, it is not closely related to either the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) or the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum). Despite its fearsome appearance and strong swimming ability, it is a relatively placid and slow-moving shark with no confirmed human fatalities. This species has a sharp, pointy head, and a bulky body. The sand tiger's length can reach 3.2 m (10.5 ft) but is normally 2.2–2.5 m in length.
Wikipedia contributors, Sand tiger shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:31:51.723971+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Carcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810
- Name authority
- Rafinesque, 1810
- Common name
- Owston’s sand shark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Lamniformes
- Family
- Odontaspididae
- Genus
- Carcharias
- 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
- orderLamniformes Garman, 1885
- familyOdontaspididae Müller & Henle, 1839
- genusCarcharias Rafinesque, 1810
- speciesCarcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Carcharias. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Indian sand tigerCarcharias tricuspidatus Day, 1878 | OdontaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
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.
- Rafinesque, C. S. (1810). Caratteri di alcuni nuovi generi e nuove specie di animali e piante della sicilia, con varie osservazioni sopra i medisimi. Per Le Stampe Di Sanfilippo: Palermo, Italy, Part 1 involves fishes, pp. [i–iv] 3–69 [70 blank], Part 2 with slightly different title, pp. ia–iva + 71–105 [106 blank]). Pls. 1–20. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.104418 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.
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:5WZK9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.