International Shark Attack File
ISAF Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark
Species of shark implicated in attacks around the world, 1580 - 2011
(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
| Species |
Common
Name |
Non-fatal
Unprovoked |
Fatal
Unprovoked |
Provoked |
Air/Sea Disaster |
Boat |
Scavenge |
Unassigned |
Total |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Carcharodon carcharias, |
white |
194 |
69 |
70 |
0 |
60 |
3 |
35 |
431 |
| Galeocerdo cuvier, |
tiger |
66 |
29 |
31 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
30 |
169 |
| Carcharhinus leucas, |
bull |
65 |
26 |
34 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
8 |
139 |
| Carcharias taurus, |
sand tiger |
28 |
1 |
42 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
77 |
| Carcharhinus spp., |
requiem |
33 |
7 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
57 |
| Ginglymostoma cirratum, |
nurse |
10 |
0 |
39 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
54 |
| Carcharhinus limbatus, |
blacktip |
27 |
1 |
14 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
45 |
| Sphyrna spp., |
hammerhead |
17 |
0 |
11 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
37 |
| Carcharhinus brachyurus, |
narrowtooth |
18 |
1 |
13 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
36 |
| Prionace glauca, |
blue |
8 |
4 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
34 |
| Isurus oxyrinchus, |
shortfin mako |
8 |
2 |
12 |
1 |
9 |
0 |
1 |
33 |
| Negaprion brevirostris, |
lemon |
10 |
0 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
29 |
| Carcharhinus perezi, |
Caribbean reef |
4 |
0 |
23 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
27 |
| Orectolobus spp., |
wobbegong |
11 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
25 |
| Orectolobus macalatus, |
spotted wobbegong |
4 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
22 |
| Carcharhinus melanopterus, |
blacktip reef |
11 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
| Carcharhinus brevipinna, |
spinner |
16 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
| Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, |
grey reef |
7 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
| Carcharhinus longimanus, |
oceanic whitetip |
7 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
14 |
| Isurus spp., |
mako |
6 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
11 |
| Notorhynchus cepedianus, |
sevengill |
5 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
| Carcharhinus plumbeus, |
sandbar |
5 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
| Triaenodon obesus, |
whitetip reef |
5 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
| Carcharhinus falciformis, |
silky |
3 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
| Carcharhinus obscurus, |
dusky |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
| Lamna nasus, |
porbeagle |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
| Carcharhinus albimarginatus, |
silvertip |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| Odontaspis spp., |
sand shark |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
| Triakis semifasciata, |
leopard |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Scyliorhinus canicula, |
small-spotted catshark |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Alopias vulpinus, |
thresher |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Carcharhinus galapagensis, |
Galapagos |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Isistius sp., |
cookiecutter shark |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| Negaprion sp., |
lemon shark |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Alopias spp., |
thresher |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Rhincodon typus, |
whale |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Squatina sp., |
angelshark |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Odonstaspis ferox, |
small-toothed sand tiger |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Squatina squatina, |
angelshark |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Trygonorrhina fasciata |
southern fiddler |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Rhinobatos spp., |
guitarfish |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Galeorhinus galeus |
tope |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Squalus acanthias, |
spiny dogfish |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Carcharhinus altimus, |
bignose |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Mustelus canis, |
smooth dogfish |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Heterodontus francisci, |
horn |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Hexanchus griseus, |
sixgill |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Sphyrna mokarran, |
great
hammerhead |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Sphyrna lewini, |
scalloped hammerhead |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Sutorectus tentaculatus, |
cobbler wobbegong |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Brachaelurus waddi, |
blind |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Mustelus asterias, |
starry smooth hound |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Hemipristis elongata |
snaggletooth shark |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Carcharias spp., |
lamniform |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| TOTALS |
54 species |
578 |
145 |
428 |
5 |
89 |
16 |
114 |
1,375 |
Last updated: January 30, 2012
© International Shark Attack File
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
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