Pacific nurse shark Ginglymostoma unami Endangered
Where the Pacific nurse shark lives, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.
Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 7 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See sharks on the world map
| Scientific name | Ginglymostoma unami |
|---|---|
| Group | Sharks |
| Status | Endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label) |
| Class | Cartilaginous fish |
| Order | Orectolobiformes |
| Family | Ginglymostomatidae |
Is the Pacific nurse shark endangered?
The Pacific nurse shark’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the Pacific nurse shark?
The Pacific nurse shark (Ginglymostoma unami) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Orectolobiformes and the family Ginglymostomatidae, genus Ginglymostoma. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)
About the Pacific nurse shark
The pacific nurse shark (Ginglymostoma unami) is a medium sized shark from the family Ginglymostomatidae. The species is endemic to the Tropical Eastern Pacific, and is not to be confused with its sister species Ginglymostoma cirratum, which is restricted to the Atlantic Ocean. G. unami has the characteristic round, elongated body and fin shape of nurse sharks, which can be useful when identifying them in aerial image data. The species has a wide habitat range, including the Gulf of California, Costa Rica, Peru, and Panama. However, Pacific nurse sharks are considered endangered, and they are threatened by fishing practices like many other shark species. They have also been observed to disperse over long distances away from their home ranges, though they also exhibit high site fidelity. Therefore, researchers focus on the importance of better studying and tracking the sharks, often using aerial imaging data, in order to improve policies and protections regarding them.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Pacific nurse shark (revision 1372855925), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q19813102 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).
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