WHAT TO LOOK FOR: A large brownish shark; mouth well in front of eyes; first dorsal fin base over pelvic fin base.

COLOUR: Tan to dark greyish brown according to habitat.

SIZE: Males are mature by 8.2 ft (2.5m), females by 7.5 ft (2.3)m. Maximum total length is 10.3 to 10.5 ft (3.14 to 3.20m), but most individuals are smaller.

TEETH: Small, cusped teeth.

HABITAT: Tropical inshore shark of the continental and insular shelves, common in intertidal waters and from the surf zone to 230 ft (70m). Usually found on or near the bottom in lagoons, off sandy beaches, sandy areas near reefs or along the outer edges of coral reefs. The shark seems to prefer sheltered areas in crevices and caves on reefs, but it is often found in more exposed areas in a depression or crevice.

DISTRIBUTION: lndo-West and Central Pacific: Australia (Queensland), Tahiti, Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa, New Ireland, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, China, Viet Nam, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia. India, Seychelles and Madagascar to Red Sea, Mauritius and South Africa.

BIOLOGY:
Prey - Corals, crabs, lobsters and other crustaceans, octopus, squid and probably other cephalopods, sea urchins and reef fish, including surgeonfishes and siganids. Reproduction - Sources are conflicting: According to Grant (1982) the shark is an egg- layer, an oviparous shark that produces pale yellow, onion-shaped eggs 3.5 inches [90

According to Compagno (1984) the shark is ovovivparous; egg cases are retained in utero until the young hatch and are born alive The shark produces at least 4 pups per uterus and size of each at birth is about 15.7 inches [40 cm].

BEHAVIOUR:
Feeding When foraging, the shark moves along the bottom and explores depressions, holes and crevices in the reef. When potential prey is located the shark places its small mouth very close to its intended victim and uses its large pharynx as a powerful suction to rapidly inhale the organism. When caught by fisherman the shark may throw the sucking apparatus in reverse; It will blast streams of water out of its mouth and into the face of its captor. The shark is reported to make a vulgar grunting sound between streams

DISPOSITION:
The tawny nurse shark is primarily nocturnal, resting in daytime shelters and slowly prowling the reefs at night, although a few individuals may be active by day. The shark is gregarious and forms resting aggregations of 2 to 6 or more sharks in shelters; they are often seen piled across or atop one another When resting, the shark is very sluggish.
Danger to humans - Said to be more docile than the nurse shark, and often allows divers to handle it, but it is credited with a few provoked attacks In these cases the sharks have bitten their tormentors, and clamped tightly onto to them.