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FAQs about Shark
Identification
Related Articles: Sharks,
Sharks In My Living
Room?, Cartilaginous Fishes, Blacktip
Reef Shark, Nurse
Sharks, Coldwater Sharks, Leopard Sharks,
Port Jackson Sharks,
Moving
Sharks,
Related FAQs: Shark
Systems 1, Shark
Systems 1, Sharks in General,
Shark Behavior, Shark Compatibility, Selection,
Feeding, Diseases,
Shark, Ray Eggs, Coldwater
Sharks,
Leopard Sharks,
Heterodontus,
Blacktip
Reef Sharks, Nurse Sharks,
Moving Sharks,
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Australian scuba trip
– 04/19/08
Hey Bob! I wanted to know if you could identify the fish in the
background as being a native of OZ as I think this may be another case
of hoaxing that could be dispelled by someone with field and identity
experience.
<Heee! Have seen this PS pic... Carcharhinus carcharodon...>
BTW..........we are having a Cinco de Mayo party at our house on the
Saturday the 3rd. Please feel free to make a reservation and stay at the
Hotel Zunich. Cheers, john
<Will chat w/ Di re. Cheers! BobF> |
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What kind of shark is this?
3/14/08
I have never seen anything like this in a tank before--any idea what
kind of shark it is? If you want to see it in motion, that's at the very
beginning of the clip here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=1IA0X70UD4o&feature=related--
Michael Malice
<Is a brown dogfish, smoothhound... Likely Mustelus henlei... see here:
http://fishbase.org/search.php
Bob Fenner> |
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Happy new year!
Shark ID, UW photography, dive
adventures
Hey dogfish,
<Chris>
hope the holidays treated you well and that it was a safe holiday
season. things were enjoyable out east. moist sushi did some diving over
in the red sea while she was over that way for business. sounds pretty
nice. couple things.... 1. can you ID the shark in this picture? I'm
guessing it washed up on the beach but I don't know for sure. It's a
beach on the Outer Banks, NC. My friends who found it, said it was about
12' in length. They thought it was a great white but I'm not the expert
that you are.
<Is almost certainly a Basking Shark, Cetorhinus maximus>
2. I'm looking for a second strobe for my camera rig. what kind of Inon
strobe did I borrow from you?
<An older model... don't think they produce it anymore... I would look
for a recent in-production one... on sale!>
3. Meghan may have a business trip out to HI in Feb/March. Not sure what
island her business on and I don't recall which island your place is on.
It would be fun to catch up out there if schedules work out. I've a got
a friend out there that works in the dive industry and keeps telling me
about the night dives with the mantas. sounds really cool!<Please have
her email or call me there (808 331 XXXX)... I'll be out that way till
2/19... on the Big Island>
4. scuba cruise 08. I have several ideas.- found another live aboard
company. cost a bit more than black beards but the ship is 106'; they
have cabins vs. racks; and max pax load is 18. hot showers on the dive
deck and nitrox. my thinking is to see how many folks are interested and
then decided whether a live aboard will work or to do a land based trip.
Bonaire keeps popping into my head since they seem to avoid most of the
'canes. I know you are not on the scuba cruise yahoo group, so I wanted
to let you know and also hear your opinion.
happy new year and happy diving! Pulls
<You as well my friend. Do you have interest in hauling out to the Far
East with us/groups in 08? If so, I'll email you the particulars...
Cheers, Bob/DF> |
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Re: mystery shark 1/8/08
Hi Bob,
> > FWIW, you're spot on about that carcass being a basking shark. The
gill slits going almost all the way round to the top of the 'neck' is
the give away. Very cool creature, and a lucky find.
Cheers, Neale
<Must've shocked some folks when found washed up on shore! BobF>
Re: mystery shark
1/8/08
Hi Robert,
<Neale>
Basking sharks are (apparently) quite common along the west coast of
the UK at certain times of the year (never seen them myself). There used
to be a major fishery for them at the Isle of Man. There was always a
mystery over why you only saw them at certain times of the year. When I
was at university, we were told they hibernated in the winter time,
shedding their gill rakers.
<? Strange... thought these were constantly regrown, functioned as
strainers...>
According to the Basking Shark Trust, recent studies say they feed on
deep water plankton. So I learned something new today, thanks to that
photo! http://www.baskingsharks.org/ > Shark watchers in England have
been a bit fevered the last year, because of possible great white
sightings here. In the latest report, the photo of a grey seal with a
whopping great bite out of the side is pretty scary. The "theory" is
that global warming is encouraging fish resident in the Mediterranean
(like the GWS) to move further north.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article643371.ece On the other
hand, we do get porbeagles here regularly, and they're pretty big
animals. Likewise threshers, though they tend to be more in the Gulf
Stream than around the east coast where it's colder.
Cheers, Neale
<Let's go diving! BobF>> |
Bamboo/Wobby shark attack 3/29/07
The article said this is a Wobbegong...it clearly isn't. What
species of bamboo is it? (Attached pic)
bamboo owner
<Mmm... does look like an Orectolobid, Carpet Shark to me... the nasal
flaps, dorso-ventral compression... and biting habit... Is a Wobby...
likely O. japonicus. Bob Fenner> |
Re: bamboo shark attack 3/29/07
Are you sure?
<Almost certain>
There seem to be only two nasal flaps like a bamboo and the
coloration is not reticulated like practically all wobbegongs
possess. I
think that bamboos should be added to the man-eater list!!
Scared of my tank,
bill
<Heeee! I've been chased by Carpet Sharks in the wild... luckily/happily
not by Bamboos/Epaulettes! Bob Fenner> |
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Zebra Shark? - 09/07/06
Someone told me it is a Zebra shark?
<<Mmm, if this is so (Stegostoma fasciatum) this shark will outgrow your
system (some 7+ feet at maturity)>> <Much larger. RMF>
Can you send me to a shark expert to get more understanding of what I have
here?
Brandon
<<Try contacting the National Aquarium of Baltimore, they have/care for a
female of this species there (http://www.aqua.org/animals_zebrashark.html). Regards,
EricR>>
Shark ID - 09/02/06
Can you give ma better idea of what this is? It is about 3.5 inches-
4 inches.
<Mmm, small! Looks like a Bamboo Shark... likely a Chiloscyllium
species...>
If not can you send me somewhere that can. I have looked in a lot of
books and online. I think it is a cat shark of some kind but would like
more info on it.
Was sold as a marble cat shark but it doesn't look right for the
species.
<Agreed... the head is not right at all. Bob Fenner>
Thank you
Brandon |
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Caribbean Shark? ID 3/16/06
Hello,
<Hi there>
While snorkeling off of St. Thomas, several of us spotted 4 shark-like
species. The color was pale blue, size was approx 6-8 ft in length and had the
same fins like that of a shark.
<Likely Silkies,
http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=868>
It was definitely not a typical bonnet head shark. The snout looked like an
imprint of a tennis shoe, the length of the
snout was about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of a swordfish. The Captain of the trip
said they were a type of shark - he was not in the
water at the time and did not see them. Most recently, I was told by another
Captain on a more recent BVI snorkeling
group that they were most likely Remora fish that feed off of sharks.
<Not really off of them... but on scraps... from them>
However, my research online of Remora's did not look anything like the species
we
had seen. The disc-like sucker on the head of the Remora was similar to what
we had seen. This imprint was located past the head, as if it were the
"snout".
Thank you for any information you may have to offer.
Kathleen
<See fishbase.org re. There are a few possibilities. Bob Fenner>
Could you please explain the differences between the coral catshark
(Atelomycterus marmoratus) and the marble catshark (Atelomycterus macleayi)???
- 01/12/2006
<See on fishbase.org... actually just looked... don't have a pic of the
latter... but the Coral is distinctive in appearance and they do, oh and we do,
have pix of this>
I ordered the Sharks and Rays book but it hasn't arrived yet, and the local
library did not have a copy. I am looking specifically for information
concerning the differences in appearance and behavior (if any). Thanks a lot,
and keep up the good work!
Robert
<Similar in terms of behavior, care... Bob Fenner>
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