Herbsts (or Herbst’s) nurse shark
Odontaspis ferox (Risso, 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.
Odontaspis ferox swim in an aquarium. This photo was taken at Keikyu Aburatsubo Marine Park in May 2021.
出羽雀台 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The smalltooth sand tiger or bumpytail ragged-tooth (Odontaspis ferox) is a species of mackerel shark in the family Odontaspididae, with a patchy but worldwide distribution in tropical and warm temperate waters. They usually inhabit deepwater rocky habitats, though they are occasionally encountered in shallow water, and have been known to return to the same location year after year. This rare species is often mistaken for the much more common sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), from which it can be distinguished by its first dorsal fin, which is larger than the second and placed further forward. It grows to at least 5.2 m (17 ft) in length. They have also been recently sighted in Irish and English waters. Very little is known of the biology and behavior of the smalltooth sand tiger. It is an active predator of invertebrates, cartilaginous fishes, and bony fishes from the benthic zone. This species is thought to be ovoviviparous with oophagous embryos like other mackerel sharks.
Wikipedia contributors, Smalltooth sand tiger; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:21:25.415710+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Odontaspis ferox (Risso, 1810)
- Name authority
- (Risso, 1810)
- Common name
- Herbsts (or Herbst’s) nurse shark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Lamniformes
- Family
- Odontaspididae
- Genus
- Odontaspis
- 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
- genusOdontaspis Agassiz, 1838
- speciesOdontaspis ferox (Risso, 1810)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Odontaspis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| bigeye sand tigerOdontaspis noronhai (Maul, 1955) | OdontaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Odontaspis herbsti Whitley, 1950 Whitley, 1950 | synonym |
| Squalus ferox Risso, 1810 Risso, 1810 | synonym |
| Carcharias ferox (Risso, 1810) (Risso, 1810) | 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=105844 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:74HN7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.