Chondrichthyes: Grey Nurse Shark

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Classification – Chondrichthyes is a class that contains the cartilaginous fishes: they are jawed vertebrates with paired fins, paired nares, scales, a heart with its chambers in series, and skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. The kingdom of a grey nurse shark is Animalia because the grey nurse shark is a multicellular animal. The phylum is Chordata because it is a large animal that includes vertebrates . The class is Chondrichthyes because it has a cartilaginous skeleton. The order is lamniformes because they are a class called mackerel sharks . Family is Odontaspididae because they are sand sharks. Genus is Carcharias because it is a white pointer . And the species is Carcharias Taurus because it is a shallow water shark with very sharp teeth and can be dangerous to swimmers sometimes. …show more content…
These are stout-bodied sharks with metallic brown or reddish coloured spots on the sides. When a grey nurse shark pup is born it is typically between 115 and 150 cm. As they mature, grey nurse sharks can reach 5.5 meters, but an average size is 3.6 meters. Females are generally larger than males. Average weight is from 95 to 110 kg. A distinguishing characteristic of grey nurse sharks is that the anal fin and both dorsal fins are the same size. The tail is heterocercal, with a long, upper lobe and a shorter, lower lobe. These different lobes allow for great movement. The mouth bears razor like teeth and is long and slender, with pointed snout. Their elongated teeth are visible even when the mouth is closed, giving these sharks a menacing appearance. This has led many to believe that these are dangerous sharks, a reputation they don't deserve. ("Abyss Scuba Diving", 2005; "Sensory Biology of Sharks, Skates,

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