Tawny nurse shark: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the tawny nurse shark lives – recorded in 9 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Nebrius ferrugineus
Group	Sharks
Status	Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	9 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Oceania
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Orectolobiformes
Family	Ginglymostomatidae

Where does the tawny nurse shark live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the tawny nurse shark in 9 countries and territories across Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the tawny nurse shark endangered?

The tawny nurse shark’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Vulnerable” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the tawny nurse shark?

The tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Orectolobiformes and the family Ginglymostomatidae, genus Nebrius. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the tawny nurse shark

The tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus) is a species of carpet shark in the family Ginglymostomatidae, and the only extant member of the genus Nebrius.

It is found widely along coastlines in the Indo-Pacific, preferring reefs, sandy flats, and seagrass beds from very shallow water to a depth of 70 m (230 ft). With a cylindrical body and a broad, flattened head, the tawny nurse shark is quite similar in appearance to the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) of the Atlantic and East Pacific, from which it can be distinguished by its pointed-tipped dorsal fins and narrow, sickle-shaped pectoral fins. The maximum recorded length of the tawny nurse shark is 3.2 m (10 ft).

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Tawny nurse shark (revision 1379928621), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q751258 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).