The sand tiger shark is a long, robust shark with a grey-brown colouring on its back with some stains, and a lighter color on the belly. The head is small and flat on the top, and it has a shark beak and small eyes. The sand tiger shark is a slow but steady swimmer and is most active at night. It has a highly migratory character and regulates its floating by swallowing air.

It is a shark that lives swimming near the shallow sandy beds, but which may go down to 190 m. It usually approaches the coast a great deal. These sharks are highly voracious and consumer a large amount of vertebrate fish, both benthonic and great pelagic swimmers. They also eat small sharks, rays, cephalopods and crustaceans and are therefore carnivores.

This is an ovoviparous animal, that is, which incubates its eggs in the maternal uterus.

They present very active ovophagia and intrauterine conflict which limits births to 2 at a time, one per uterus. The gestation lasts 8-9 months.

All sharks have several rows of teeth, and the sand tiger shark has 3 rows in each jaw. Its teeth are narrow, long and with a smooth edge, ideal for holding prey and swallowing it whole.

Conservation status