I'm really hooked on fishing. I do all types of fishing but lately i started looking for a new challenge. So i decided to pick a shark species and a weight and see if i can manage that.
My first personal challenge is to catch and release 150Kg+ spotted ragged tooth shark(hopefully without any injury to myself or the shark)
ClassificationOrder: Lamniformes (mackerel sharks)
Class: Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays)
Family: Odontaspididae idae - suffix meaning that this a family name. All animal family names end in -idae.
Genus: Odontaspis - odonto, odon - tooth (Greek) or Carcharias - carcharo - sharp pointed, jagged (Greek). Refers to the teeth.
Species: taurus - bull (Latin). Presumably refers to the stocky body.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy
The Ragged Tooth Shark (Sand Tiger or Grey Nurse Shark)was originally named Carcharias taurus by Rafinesque in 1810. Since then it has also been referred to literature as Odontaspis taurus, Eugomphodus taurus, Odontaspis americanus, Squalus americanus, Carcharias griseus, Odontaspis arenarius, Carcharias arenarius, Odontaspis platensis, and Carcharius platensis.
Common NamesEnglish language common names include Ragged Tooth Shark (Sand Tiger or Grey Nurse Shark) shark, grey nurse shark, ground shark, spotted raggedtooth shark, slender-tooth shark, spotted Ragged Tooth Shark (Sand Tiger or Grey Nurse Shark) shark and ground shark. Other common names are bacota (Spanish), pintado (Spanish), sarda (Spanish), cação-da-areia (Portuguese), mangona (Portuguese), tavrocarcharias (Greek), chien de mer (French), kalb, (Arabic), grauer sandhai (German), hietahai (Finnish), karish khol pari (Hebrew), oxhaj (Swedish), zandtijgerhaai (Dutch), peshkaqen i eger (Albanian), shirowani (Japanese) and spikkel-skeurtandhaai (Afrikaans).
Common NamesEnglish language common names include Ragged Tooth Shark (Sand Tiger or Grey Nurse Shark) shark, grey nurse shark, ground shark, spotted raggedtooth shark, slender-tooth shark, spotted Ragged Tooth Shark (Sand Tiger or Grey Nurse Shark) shark and ground shark. Other common names are bacota (Spanish), pintado (Spanish), sarda (Spanish), cação-da-areia (Portuguese), mangona (Portuguese), tavrocarcharias (Greek), chien de mer (French), kalb, (Arabic), grauer sandhai (German), hietahai (Finnish), karish khol pari (Hebrew), oxhaj (Swedish), zandtijgerhaai (Dutch), peshkaqen i eger (Albanian), shirowani (Japanese) and spikkel-skeurtandhaai (Afrikaans).
Distinctive Features
The most distinctive feature of the Ragged Tooth Shark is it's teeth - ferocious looking and always visible the ragged tooth Sharks grin can hardly be mistaken for any other shark.
The Ragged tooth Shark is a large, bulky shark with a flattened conical snout and a long mouth that extends behind the eyes. The first dorsal fin is set back and is much closer to the pelvic fins than the pectoral fins. The anal and dorsal fins are large and broad-based and the second dorsal fin is almost the same size as the first dorsal. Gill slits are anterior to the origin of the pectoral fins in this species. The caudal fin of the Ragged tooth Shark is asymmetrically shaped with a strongly pronounced upper lobe.
The Ragged tooth Shark grows to a length of 3.6m. Males mature at 2.1m and females at 2.2m. Average size ranges from four to nine feet with maximum length believed to be around 10.5 feet (320 cm) in females and 9.9 feet (301 cm) in males. Male maturity is reached at 6.3 feet (190-195 cm) at four to five years of age. Female maturity is reached at six years or over 7.2 feet (220 cm) in total length.
The Ragged tooth Shark is a large, bulky shark with a flattened conical snout and a long mouth that extends behind the eyes. The first dorsal fin is set back and is much closer to the pelvic fins than the pectoral fins. The anal and dorsal fins are large and broad-based and the second dorsal fin is almost the same size as the first dorsal. Gill slits are anterior to the origin of the pectoral fins in this species. The caudal fin of the Ragged tooth Shark is asymmetrically shaped with a strongly pronounced upper lobe.
The Ragged tooth Shark grows to a length of 3.6m. Males mature at 2.1m and females at 2.2m. Average size ranges from four to nine feet with maximum length believed to be around 10.5 feet (320 cm) in females and 9.9 feet (301 cm) in males. Male maturity is reached at 6.3 feet (190-195 cm) at four to five years of age. Female maturity is reached at six years or over 7.2 feet (220 cm) in total length.
So sit back and enjoy the ride with me.
During this time you will also see some wonderful spots along the South African coastline and also some weird and amazing sea creatures.
And if you are a avid fisherman like me I'm sure you will also learn a thing or two along the way.
I'll keep you up to date on all my trips, successes and losses. Expect a lot of blood, sweat and tears. All in the name of fishing.
FISHING IS A HARD JOB, BUT SOMEONE GOT TO DO IT!!!
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