Nurse shark

The nurse shark is an elasmobranch fish in the family Ginglymostomatidae. The conservation status of the nurse shark is globally assessed as vulnerable in the IUCN List of Threatened Species.

Nurse sharks are an inshore, bottom-dwelling species of the Atlantic and eastern Pacific. In the western Atlantic they range from Rhode Island to southern Brazil, including the Caribbean, and in the eastern Pacific from Baja California to Peru. Juveniles stick to shallow coral reefs, seagrass flats, and mangroves, while adults move to deeper reefs and rocky areas.