Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), recorded as Endangered
Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Sandbar shark

Carcharhinus plumbeus

Sandbar shark is a shark or ray in the family Carcharhinidae (order Carcharhiniformes) — Carcharhinus plumbeus, recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Carcharhinus plumbeus
Taxonomy
Elasmobranchii · Carcharhiniformes · Carcharhinidae · Carcharhinus

Appearance

Sandbar sharks usually have heavy-set bodies and rounded snouts that are shorter than the average shark's snout. Its second dorsal fin and anal fin are close to the same height. Its body color can vary from a blue-ish brown, grey or bronze, with a white or pale underside.

The maximum recorded weight is 240 kg (530 lb). Female sandbar sharks have an average fork-length (tip of the nose to fork in the tail) of 154.9 cm with the males' average fork-length being 151.6 cm.

Range and habitat

The sandbar shark, true to its nickname, is commonly found over muddy or sandy bottoms in shallow coastal waters such as bays, estuaries, harbors, or the mouths of rivers, but it also swims in deeper waters (200 m or more) as well as intertidal zones. Sandbar sharks are found in tropical to temperate waters worldwide. In the western Atlantic they range from Massachusetts to Brazil. Juveniles are common to abundant in the lower Chesapeake Bay, and nursery grounds are found from Delaware Bay to South Carolina.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Habits

Females have been found to exhibit both biennial, consistently reproducing every two years and returning to the same place to have deliver the pup, and triennial, reproducing every three years and returning to the same place for delivery, migration and gestation periods.

In crisis

The New Zealand Department of Conservation has classified the sandbar shark as "Data Deficient" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.

Sandbar shark is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Sandbar shark, Wikidata item Q304539. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Borneo shark (Carcharhinus borneensis), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Borneo shark

Carcharhinus borneensis
Photograph of Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Oceanic whitetip shark

Carcharhinus longimanus
Photograph of Pacific smalltail shark (Carcharhinus cerdale), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Pacific smalltail shark

Carcharhinus cerdale
Photograph of Pondicherry shark (Carcharhinus hemiodon), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Pondicherry shark

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Quick answers

What is Sandbar shark?
Sandbar shark is a shark or ray in the family Carcharhinidae (order Carcharhiniformes) — Carcharhinus plumbeus.
What is the conservation status of Sandbar shark?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Carcharhinus plumbeus. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Sandbar shark live?
The sandbar shark, true to its nickname, is commonly found over muddy or sandy bottoms in shallow coastal waters such as bays, estuaries, harbors, or the mouths of rivers, but it also swims in deeper waters (200 m or more) as well as intertidal zones.
Why is Sandbar shark in crisis?
The New Zealand Department of Conservation has classified the sandbar shark as "Data Deficient" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Carcharhinus plumbeus?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Sandbar shark a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.