Bull shark - Wikipedia. The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), also known as the Zambezi shark or, unofficially, as Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a requiem shark commonly found worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers. The bull shark is known for its aggressive nature, predilection for warm shallow water, and presence in brackish and freshwater systems including estuaries and rivers. Bull sharks can thrive in both salt and fresh water and can travel far up rivers. They have been known to travel as far up the Mississippi River as Illinois. They are probably responsible for the majority of near- shore shark attacks, including many bites attributed to other species. In Africa, it is also commonly called the Zambezi River shark or just Zambi. ![]() Its wide range and diverse habitats result in many other local names, including Ganges River shark, Fitzroy Creek whaler, van Rooyen's shark, Lake Nicaragua shark. Its genus, Carcharhinus, also includes the sandbar shark, which is not capable of osmoregulation. The bull shark can be up to 8. While a maximum size of 3. The maximum recorded weight of a bull shark was 3. The second dorsal fin is smaller than the first. The bull shark's caudal fin is longer and lower than that of the larger sharks, and it has a small snout, and lacks an interdorsal ridge. It is found to a depth of 1. In the Indian Ocean, it is found from South Africa to Kenya, India,Vietnam, Philippines to Australia. One was reportedly seen swimming the flooded streets of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, during the 2. Queensland floods. Still greater numbers are in the canals of the Gold Coast, Queensland. The bull shark has traveled 4,0. Amazon River to Iquitos in Peru. Lucia Estuary in South Africa. Bull sharks have been recorded in the Tigris River since at least 1. ![]() Baghdad. They are believed to have become trapped following a flood in the 1. The golf course has capitalized on the novelty and now hosts a monthly tournament called the . Some skates (Rajidae), smooth dogfishes (Triakidae), and sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus) regularly enter estuaries. The bull shark is one of the few cartilaginous fishes that have been reported in freshwater systems.
A scuba diver above a Whale shark. The Whale shark is the largest fish in the world; the basking shark is the second largest fish. There are many different species of.![]() The name "bull shark" comes from the shark's stocky shape, broad, flat snout, and aggressive, unpredictable behavior. In India, the bull shark may be. The bull shark is an opportunistic carnivorous predator but can eat almost anything it finds in its way including fish, rays, sea turtles, mollusks. ![]() The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), named for its stocky body and ferocious reputation, is most famous for its remarkable abilit. Many of the euryhaline fish are bony fish such as salmon and tilapia and are not closely related to bull sharks. Evolutionary assumptions can be made to help explain this sort of evolutionary disconnect, one being that the bull shark encountered a population bottleneck that occurred during the last ice age. This results in a large influx of water across the gills due to osmosis and loss of sodium and chloride from the shark's body. However, bull sharks in fresh water possess several organs with which to maintain appropriate salt and water balance; these are the rectal gland, kidneys, liver, and gills. All elasmobranchs have a rectal gland which functions in the excretion of excess salts accumulated as a consequence of living in seawater. Bull sharks in freshwater environments decrease the salt- excretory activity of the rectal gland, thereby conserving sodium and chloride. Bull sharks caught in freshwater have subsequently been shown to have lower liver densities than sharks living in marine waters. This may reduce the added cost of greater negative buoyancy. It can live in fresh water for its entire life, but this does not happen, mostly due to reproduction. Young bull sharks leave the brackish water in which they are born and move out into the sea to breed. While theoretically, bull sharks to live in purely fresh water may be possible, the bull sharks that were being experimented on had died within four years. The stomach was opened and all that was found were two small, unidentifiable fishes. The cause of death could have been starvation since the primary food source for bull sharks resides in salt water. The driving factor for a bull shark to be in fresh or salt water, however, is its age; as the bull shark ages, its tolerance for very low or high salinity increases. In 1. 96. 1, following specimen comparisons, taxonomists synonymized them. They hunt in murky waters where it is harder for the prey to see the shark coming. After the first initial contact, they continue to bite and tackle prey until they are unable to flee. Normally, sharks eat in short bursts, and when food is scarce, sharks digest for a much longer period of time in order to avoid starvation. This is a distraction tactic; if the predator moves to eat the regurgitated food the bull shark can use the opportunity to escape. After gestating for 1. The young are about 7. Coastal lagoons, river mouths, and other low- salinity estuaries are common nursery habitats. The courting routine between bull sharks has not been observed in detail as of yet. The male likely bites the female on the tail until she can turn upside down and the male can copulate at that point. At some points, the harassment of the male can become violent. Seeing scratches and other marks on a mature female from the mating ritual is not uncommon. They are found in rivers all over the world. They give birth in the fresh water of rivers. The young bull sharks are free from predators while they grow up in the river before they go out to the sea to find mates. Because the majority of sharks are only able to survive in salt water, the bull shark has evolved to have their offspring in the fresh water where other sharks cannot enter. The size range of a litter for a female bull shark is around 1 to 1. This increases their chance of survival since the parents do not rear the young in the traditional manner. This is also the reason why there is a high mortality rate in young bull sharks. Since the parents do not rear and protect the young, any predator that is able to attack a young bull shark is easily able to kill and eat the young bull shark without much resistance. In India, bull sharks swim up the Ganges River and have bitten bathers. Many of these bite incidents were attributed to the Ganges shark, Glyphis gangeticus, a critically endangered river shark species, although the Sand Tiger shark was also blamed during the 1. The bull shark prefers coastal water which is less than 1. This is mostly due to their feeding patterns, since they prefer murky waters. This is also a problem since this gives the most interaction with humans. It is known that bull sharks inhabit areas off the coast of Florida, and there have been reports of bull sharks getting close enough to the coast to bite humans since the bull shark is a territorial animal, which encourages aggressive behavior. Bright yellow mesh netting was found to be easily avoided when it was placed in the path of the bull shark. This was found to be the reason that sharks are attracted to bright yellow survival gear rather than ones that were painted black. Specifically, they were testing to find out what determined the movement of the young bull sharks. An interesting find was that the movement was directly related to the bull shark conserving energy for itself. One way the bull shark is able to conserve energy is that when the tidal flow changes, the bull shark uses the tidal flow in order to conserve energy as it moves downriver. Humans are their biggest threat. Larger sharks, such as the tiger shark and great white shark, may attack them. Saltwater crocodiles have been observed preying on bull sharks in the rivers and estuaries of Northern Australia. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2. 01. 1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 1. 8 August 2. In- Fisherman (1. July 2. 01. 2). Retrieved on 3. November 2. 01. 3.^ abcde. Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 8 September 2. National Geographic. Retrieved 3 April 2. Reef. Quest Centre for Shark Research. Retrieved 1. 9 August 2. Australian Museum. Retrieved 1. 9 August 2. The Shark Almanac. New York: The Lyons Press. ISBN 1- 5. 58. 21- 5. B.; Simpfendorfer, C. A.; Hyndes, G. Marine and Freshwater Research. The proportion of mature males with running spermatozoa increased from 7. October to 7. 9 and 8. January and March, respectively, suggesting that mating activity peaks during late summer and early autumn. Elasmobranch biodiversity, conservation, and management: Proceedings of the international seminar and workshop. Gland Switzerland: IUCN. Shark Diver Magazine. The Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. Total Pro Sports. L.; Motta, P. J.; Huber, D. R.; Dean, M. 1. 15 (6): 3. Retrieved 1. 2 October 2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 8 September 2. January 2. 01. 1. Dailyexaminer. com. January 2. 01. 1). Retrieved on 4 May 2. Berrett, Nick (1. November 2. 00. 8). Redcliffe & Bayside Herald. Quest Community Newspapers. Retrieved 2. 6 March 2. Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas). Review of the Freshwater Sharks of Iran (Family Carcharhinidae). International Journal of Aquatic Biology, 3(4), 2. High number of sharks reported in Lake Pontchartrain. September 2. 00. 6^. In- Fisherman. 1. July 2. 01. 2. Retrieved 2. April 2. 01. 7. 1. September 2. 01. 4. Retrieved 2. 1 April 2. Nbcwashington. com. Retrieved on 4 May 2. Zauzmer, Julie (2. August 2. 01. 3). Washington Post. 1. October 2. 01. 1. Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Archived from the original on 5 July 2. Retrieved 2. 7 April 2. Simpfendorfer (2. Aquatic Biology. Journal of Fish Biology. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A. PMID 1. 53. 13. 49. Journal of Comparative Physiology B. PMID 1. 55. 65. 30. Journal of Experimental Biology. PMID 2. 18. 32. 13. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Comparative Experimental Biology. A (1. 0): 9. 17–9. PMID 1. 61. 61. 01. C.; Potvin, J.; Keleher, J. J.; Whitty, J. M.; Morgan, D. L.; Goldbogen, J. Journal of Experimental Biology. PMID 2. 55. 73. 82. Environmental Biology of Fishes. Accessed 6 April 2. Kindersley, Dorling (2. Animal, David Burnie and Don E. Wilson (eds.) London & New York: Smithsonian Institution, ISBN 0. Snelson, Franklin F; Mulligan, Timothy J; Williams, Sherry E. Bulletin of Marine Science. Bull Shark Facts For Kids. Here are some of the most wonderful bull shark facts for kids including bull shark habitat, diet, reproduction and its attacks on other species. The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), is a shark widely found in tepid coastal and shallow waters. These are also known as Zambezi shark or Zambi especially in Africa. These shark species are one of the most aggressive sharks of its family. They make others to feel their presence in shallow water and also in freshwaters including rivers and estuaries. These species are known to travel great distances in rivers and are capable to live in both freshwater and saltwater. They can cover vast distances to reach even Ohio River and Indiana River. Bull sharks are often involved in most of the shark attacks. The scientists are of the view that these sharks, although grow in a freshwater, are not true freshwater species. Bull sharks are found in both freshwaters as well as in saltwater. They are considered to be one of the most aggressive shark species. Bull sharks occasionally dive more than 1. They are known to travel vast distances through waters. The males are shorter as compared to females. The bull sharks can grow to a size of about 8. The length of adult female measures around 2. The adult male is 2. The largest bull shark ever recorded was 3. As far as physical appearance of bull sharks are concerned, they are relatively broader and heavier. They have a powerful bite force of about 5. In general, bull sharks are solitary hunters but they are also found hunting in pairs. Bull sharks can often be seen while cruising. They are highly capable to accelerate at a rapid pace. Bull sharks are considered to be highly territorial species and they won’t hesitate to attack those that enter into their territory. For the reason that these species are more readily found in shallow water, they are more likely to attack humans whosoever approaches them. The bull sharks are regarded as apex predators. Where Do Bull Sharks Live. The bull shark habitat can be found in all the major coastal freshwaters including rivers, lakes, and even oceans. Although these sharks prefer to stay in the middle of the water but sometimes they also dive deep into the ocean. Bull sharks are believed to go 1. These species have cosmopolitan distribution and they inhabit all along southern Brazil, Morocco, Massachusetts, and Angola. Some other waters include South Africa, Vietnam, India, Australia, and Kenya. According to a rough estimate, there are around 5. Brisbane River. They are also found in canals of Gold Coast, Queensland. A good many number of these individuals are known to reside in the Pacific Ocean from Baja California to Ecuador. They are known to travel vast distances of about 4,0. Iquitos and Amazon River in Peru. Some of these individuals are also found in the freshwaters of river Ganges in West Bengal (Assam, Eastern India), St. Lucia Estuary (South Africa), and Lake Nicaragua. What Do Bull Sharks Eat . Bull sharks primarily prey on dolphins, birds, turtles, terrestrial fish, echinoderms, and crustaceans. Reproduction. The mating season of bull sharks begin in early autumn and late summer. The mating is often seen to take place in brackish water. The period of gestation lasts for about 1. The females give birth to 4 – 1. These juveniles are 7. The bull sharks reach the maturity age after 1. Bull Shark Facts For Kids.
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