Texas Gulf Coast Fishing

Dusky Shark

DUSKY SHARK Carcharhinus obscurus

Description: The Dusky Shark is bluish gray above and white below. Tips of most fins dusky in younger sharks but inconspicuous in adults. This species is characterized by a snout that is slightly shorter than or as long as the width of the mouth, origin of the first dorsal fin over the free rear tip of moderately large falcate pectoral fins, and a low interdorsal ridge. The dusky shark is sometimes confused with the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) but can easily be distinguished by its smaller and more posterior first dorsal fin.
Distribution: The Dusky Shark occurs along continental coastlines in tropical and temperate waters. It ranges from Nova Scotia to Cuba (including the northern Gulf of Mexico) and from Nicaragua to southern Brazil in the western Atlantic and from southern California to the Gulf of California in the eastern Pacific. It is also found in the Mediterranean, Indian and western Pacific, including Madagascar and Australia.
Habitat: The Dusky Shark occurs along continental shorelines where it ranges from shallow inshore waters to the outer reaches of the continental shelf and adjacent oceanic waters. Although generally a bottom feeder, it can be found from the surface to a depth of 1240 ft. Adults of this species tend to avoid areas of low salinity and rarely enter estuaries. The young congregate in very shallow coastal water (nurseries) in estuaries and bays