Milk Shark
Rhizoprionodon acutus
- Vulnerable
- Card rarity: Rare
- Sharks and rays
The milk shark is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, whose common name comes from an old Indian belief that consumption of its meat promotes lactation. The largest and most widely distributed member of its genus, the milk shark typically measures 1.1 m (3.6 ft) long, and can be found in coastal tropical waters throughout the eastern Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific regions. Occurring from the surface to a depth of 200 m (660 ft), this species is common near beaches and in estuaries, and has been recorded swimming up rivers in Cambodia. Juveniles are known to inhabit tidal pools and seagrass meadows. The milk shark has a slender body with a long, pointed snout and large eyes, and is a nondescript gray above and white below.
Classification
- Class
- Chondrichthyes
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Carcharhinidae
- Genus
- Rhizoprionodon