Tawny Nurse Shark

New Caledonia, Coral Sea, South Pacific

In the lagoon of New Caledonia, we sometimes encounter the Tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus), an up to 3 meter long shark widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific and similar in appearance to the nurse shark of the Atlantic and East Pacific (Ginglymostoma cirratum).

This shark species is mostly nocturnal, swimming and hunting during the night and is known to return to the same location to rest during the day where it finds shelter under small overhangs or in caves.

 

It is an a bottom-dwelling shark and an active-swimming predator, using a powerful suction force to extract prey from inside holes and crevices, where it feeds on creatures such as octopuses, crustaceans, sea urchins, smaller reef fishes and occasionally sea snakes.

 

 

Even though they are normally found resting during the day, it happens every now and then that we meet these extraordinary creatures actively swimming around during our lagoon explorations.

The tawny nurse shark  is a species of carpet shark, a diverse group of sharks including the whale shark and zebra shark among others. 

 

Considered vulnerable, but caught by commercial fisheries across most of its range, as well as captured by big-game anglers... Despite the human caused threats, I hope our "tawny friends" can continue to peacefully swim over the coral bed many years to come.