Common Name
Blacknose Shark
Year Described
Poey, 1860
Identification
Anteroposterior tooth rows: 12-13/11-12 on each side; 25-28/23-25 total
Vertebrae: 80-88 precaudal, 161-181 total
A rather small and stout shark with a moderately large snout and a large eye. Distance between nostrils 1.4-1.7 times in pre-oral distance. Nasal flaps are small and triangular. Upper labial furrows very short. Interdorsal ridge absent. Long preanal ridge absent. No keels on caudal peduncle. Gill slits short (2.4-3.2% TL). Teeth in upper jaws narrow with oblique cusps, with serrated bases and deeply notched rear margins. Lower jaw teeth thick-based, with slender, slightly oblique cusps. First dorsal fin fairly high (7.8-9.8% TL) with a concave anterior margin, and inserted just posterior to rear margin of pectoral fin. Second dorsal fin much smaller (2.6-2.9% TL) and inserted directly above anal fin. Both dorsal fins with extended free posterior tips. Anal fin similar in size to second dorsal fin. Pelvic fin origin well behind free tip of first dorsal. Pectoral fin small and semifalcate, with a rounded tip.
Color
Gray, brown, or yellowish brown above, white below. Sometimes with dusky tips to the second dorsal and caudal fin. A black blotch on snout is more pronounced in juveniles.
Size
Adults mature at 97-106cm. Newborns are around 50cm. Maximum size to 200cm but averages around 165cm.
Habitat
Inshore continental and insular waters from 18-64m. Can be quite common over sandy bottoms and around reefs.
Range
North Carolina to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and the coast of Central America to Honduras. Also from the Bahamas and Cuba, to the Lesser Antilles, and from Venezuela to southern Brazil.
References
Castro, J.I. 2011. The Sharks of North America. Oxford University Press, 640 pp.
Compagno, L.J.V. 2002. Sharks. In: Carpenter, K.E. (Editor) FAO Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of The Western Central Atlantic. Volume 1: Introduction, mollusks, crustaceans, hagfishes, sharks, batoid fishes, and chimaeras. ASIH Special Publication No. 5. FAO, Rome.
Compagno, L., M. Dando, and S. Fowler. 2005. Sharks of the World. Princeton University Press, 480 pp.