Attacking Species
| There are only about 16 - 20 species of shark that can really be considered dangerous to man (approximately 5% of all known species) with about the same number that should be treated as potentially dangerous. Identification of the actual species responsible for an attack can, at the best of times, be very difficult, if not impossible. Even experts can find it difficult to identify the actual shark involved, especially if the shark was of the Carcharhinidae family, where many species are very similar. Reliable eye witness reports, the size and marks left by a bite, or better still a tooth actually left behind, go a long way to positive identification, but as the chart below shows, a third of all attacks can often only be limited to the family of shark and nothing more. What this chart does show, is that the Great White is held responsible for a third of all attacks, with the Bull and Tiger taking the majority of the remainder, where the shark was identified. The Bull and Tiger probably account for many of the 'Other Carcharhinus' attacks, as many experts consider these species to be as dangerous, if not more, than the Great White. There can not be any guarantee as to the 100% accuracy of these results, but the general pattern should be accepted as being valid, although the percentage for the Great White is a little surprising for being so high, until you consider that when an attack occurs, this is the first shark that springs to most peoples minds, so whether this is the actual shark or the assumed shark is difficult to know. |
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| The length of a shark involved in an attack is again difficult to estimate, although the size of a bite mark can often give experts a fairly accurate idea. Unless the attacking shark is caught, and this rarely happens, measurements are only ever estimates. Interestingly, eye witnesses usually report the shark to be longer than experts estimate, the reasons for which vary, but it is fair to say that in the heat of an attack, measuring the shark is probably not the first thing to cross the minds of the victim or the witnesses, and also when viewed from above the water, the size of submersed shapes are often distorted. It comes as little surprise that the chart below shows the average size to fall between 5 - 8 feet, as sharks above this length are not common, and smaller sharks will often steer clear of an human interaction. |
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The table below lists some of the sharks more commonly involved in attacks with links to their profile pages. |
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Great White Shark - Carcharodon carcharias |
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| Tiger Shark - Galeocerdo cuvier | Profiles |
| Bull Shark - Carcharhinus leucas | Profiles |
| Blacktip Shark - Carcharhinus limbatus | Profiles |
| Blue Shark - Prionace glauca | Profiles |
| Blacktip Reef Shark - Carcharhinus limbatus | |
| Shortfin Mako - Isurus oxyrinchus | |
| Grey Reef Shark - Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos | |
| Oceanic Whitetip Shark - Carcharhinus longimanus | |
| Copper Shark - Carcharhinus brachyurus | Profiles |
| Dusky Shark - Carcharhinus obscurus | |
| Lemon Shark - Negaprion brevirostris | |
| Silky Shark - Carcharhinus falciformis | |
| Scalloped Hammerhead - Sphyrna lewini | Profiles |
| Great Hammerhead - Sphyrna mokarran | |
| Nurse Shark - Ginglymostoma cirratum |
