Published Sep 11, 2015



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Danilo P Rada

George H Burgess

Ricardo S Rosa

Otto F Gadig

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to report a scavenging event, involving the consumption of a nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, by tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, at Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil. Recreational divers found and photographed a bitten nurse shark carcass, just after sighting two tiger sharks near of the site. We estimated the sharks total lengths and discussed aspects of this feeding interaction using of images of forensic analysis. A straight cut on the nurse shark caudal fin, whose total lenght was estimated as 200 cm, suggest that it was caught by illegal fishing. A skin peeling process on the nurse shark fins indicates that the tiger sharks consumed it after its death, in a scavenging event. This is the first published report of a scavenging event involving the consumption ofan elasmobranch by tiger sharks, allowing a better comprehension of tiger sharks’ alimentary biology.

Keywords

Carcharhinidae, Ginglymostoma, scavenging behavior, forensic analysis, Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil

References
How to Cite
Rada, D. P., Burgess, G. H., Rosa, R. S., & Gadig, O. F. (2015). Necrophagy of a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) by tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier). Universitas Scientiarum, 20(3), 313–320. https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.SC20-3.noan
Section
Marine Biology, Oceanography, Ecology