The Bull Shark
The Bull Shark(Carcharhinus leucas),has a short snout that is wider than it is long. It's belly is off-white,it's top surface is gray, and the eyes are small. The first dorsal fin is much longer and more pointed than the second dorsal fin. The Bull Shark is also known as the cub,Ganges, Nicaragua, river, Swan River Whaler, Zambezi, shovelnose, slipway grey, square-nose, and Van Rooyen's shark.
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Diet and Feeding Habits
The bull shark eats fish (including other sharks and rays), turtles, birds, mollusks, crustaceans, and dolphins.
Attacks
The bull shark is one of the most frequent attackers of people, as it swims in very shallow waters where people swim, and is an aggressive shark.
Habitat
The bull shark is found close to shore and can live for a while in fresh water, frequenting estuaries, rivers and lakes. It has been found up to 1,750 miles up the Mississippi river, and 2,500 miles up theAmazon river in Peru.
Distribution
The bull shark is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas along the cooastlines and also in a few fresh water rivers and lakes.
Reproduction
Bull sharks are viviparous (like mammals, giving birth to live animals that were nourished through a placenta). Litters of 1 to 13 pups are common after a gestation period of about one year. Pups are about 28 inches long at birth. Very young bull sharks are frequently found in protected bays near the mouths of rivers, in briny water.
Teeth
Bull shark teeth are triangular, serrated (saw edged), and very sharp. The teeth are located in rows which rotate into use as needed. The first two rows are used in obtaining prey, the other rows rotate into place as they are needed. As teeth are lost, broken, or worn down, they are replaced by new teeth that rotate into place.
Size
On average adult males are about 7 feet long, weighing 200 lbs. Adult females are about 11.5 feet long, weighing 500 lbs.
Migration
The South American bull shark migrates about 2,300 miles seasonally, travelling from the upper Amazon river to the sea.
Population
The bull shark is a very common shark.
Classification
Kingdom animalia (animals).
PhylumChordata.
SubPhylum vertebrata (vertebrates)
Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish)
Subclass Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays)
Order Carcharhiniformes
Family Carcharhinidae
Genus Carcharhinus
Species Leucas
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