Tawny nurse shark  (Nebrius ferrugineus)

Range

The tawny nurse shark is widely distributed across the Indian and west and central Pacific Oceans, ranging from the Red Sea, East Africa and the Arabian Gulf to southern Japan, south through Indonesia to Australia (1) (2) (5).

View a distribution map for this species at UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Habitat

This is a continental and insular shelf species restricted to a narrow band of shallow water from intertidal waters to depths of up to 70 m (1) (2) (4). The tawny nurse shark lives on or near the bottom in lagoons, or close to coral and rocky reefs (2). Like other nurse sharks, this species uses crevices and caves for shelter (5).

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