International Shark Attack File
ISAF Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark
Species of shark implicated in attacks around the world, 1580 - 2007
(In order by number of non air-sea disaster unprovoked attacks)
USE THIS TABLE WITH CAUTION!
Positive identification of attacking sharks is very difficult since victims rarely
make adequate observations of the attacker during the "heat" of the interaction.
Tooth remains are seldom found in wounds and diagnostic characters for many requiem
sharks (family Carcharhinidae) are difficult to discern even by trained professionals.
That said, this list must be used with caution because attacks involving easily identified
species, such as white, tiger, sandtiger, hammerhead and nurse sharks, nearly always identify
the attacking species, while cases involving difficult to identify species, such as requiem
sharks of the genus Carcharhinus, seldom correctly identify the attacker. Thus the
list is skewed to readily identified species. A number of requiem sharks in the genus
Carcharhinus likely are involved in many more attacks than they are credited in
this list and, if the list could reflect that reality, Carcharhinus bites would
push such species as the sandtiger, hammerhead and nurse sharks towards the bottom of the
list. Nonetheless, the white, tiger and bull sharks are the "Big Three" in the shark attack
world because they are large species that are capable of inflicting serious injuries to a
victim, are commonly found in areas where humans enter the water, and have teeth designed
to shear rather than hold. Realistically, almost any shark in the right size range, roughly
six feet (1.8 meters) or greater, is a potential threat to humans because, even if a bite is
not intended as a directed feeding attempt on a human, the power of the jaw and tooth morphology
can lead to injury. --- George H. Burgess, ISAF
|
Non Air-Sea Disaster |
Air-Sea Disaster
|
| Species |
Common
Name |
Unprovoked
(fatal) |
Provoked |
No Assignment |
Unprovoked
(fatal) |
Provoked |
No Assignment |
Boat
Attack |
Total |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Carcharodon carcharias, |
white |
237 (64) |
70 |
34 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
95 |
437 |
| Galeocerdo cuvier, |
tiger |
88 (28) |
24 |
31 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
11 |
155 |
| Carcharhinus leucas, |
bull |
77 (23) |
25 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
110 |
| Carcharhinus spp., |
requiem |
30 (8) |
14 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
49 |
| Carcharias taurus, |
sand tiger |
30 (2) |
35 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
76 |
| Carcharhinus limbatus, |
blacktip |
28 (1) |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
41 |
| Carcharhinus brachyurus, |
narrowtooth |
17 (0) |
9 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
29 |
| Sphyrna spp., |
hammerhead |
16 (0) |
9 |
5 |
1(1) |
0 |
1 |
6 |
38 |
| Carcharhinus brevipinna, |
spinner |
15 (0) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
| Prionace glauca, |
blue |
12 (4) |
19 |
0 |
1(0) |
0 |
2 |
4 |
38 |
| Carcharhinus melanopterus, |
blacktip reef |
11 (0) |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
| Ginglymostoma cirratum, |
nurse |
10 (0) |
36 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
49 |
| Negaprion brevirostris, |
lemon |
9 (0) |
13 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
28 |
| Isurus oxyrinchus, |
shortfin mako |
8 (2) |
15 |
1 |
1(0) |
0 |
0 |
20 |
45 |
| Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, |
grey reef |
7 (0) |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| Carcharhinus longimanus, |
oceanic whitetip |
5 (1) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
| Carcharhinus plumbeus, |
sandbar |
5 (0) |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
| Notorhynchus cepedianus, |
sevengill |
5 (0) |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
| Carcharhinus perezi, |
Caribbean reef |
4 (0) |
23 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
27 |
| Isurus spp., |
mako |
3 (0) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Carcharhinus obscurus, |
dusky |
3 (1) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
| Carcharhinus falciformis, |
silky |
3 (0) |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
| Orectolobus macalatus, |
wobbegong |
2 (0) |
14 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
| Triaenodon obesus, |
whitetip reef |
2 (0) |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| Triakis semifasciata, |
leopard |
1 (0) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Lamna nasus, |
porbeagle |
1 (0) |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
| Carcharhinus galapagensis, |
Galapagos |
1 (1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Galeorhinus galeus |
tope |
1 (0) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Carcharhinus albimarginatus, |
silvertip |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Squalus acanthias, |
spiny dogfish |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Alopias spp., |
thresher |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
| Carcharhinus altimus, |
bignose |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Mustelus canis, |
smooth dogfish |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Cetorhinus maximus, |
basking |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| Heterodontus francisci, |
horn |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Hexanchus griseus, |
sixgill |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Rhincodon typus, |
whale |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Somniosus microcephalus, |
Greenland |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Sphyrna mokarran, |
great
hammerhead |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Scyliorhinus canicula, |
small-spotted catshark |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Sutorectus tentaculatus, |
cobbler wobbegong |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| TOTALS |
41 species |
631 (135) |
362 |
104 |
3 (1) |
0 |
6 |
166 |
1272 |
Last updated: January 29, 2008
© International Shark Attack File
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
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