International Shark Attack File
ISAF Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark
Species of shark implicated in confirmed unprovoked attacks around the world, 1580 - 2012
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 |
Total |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, |
grey reef |
7 |
0 |
7 |
| Carcharhinus brachyurus, |
bronze whaler |
18 |
1 |
19 |
| Carcharhinus brevipinna, |
spinner |
16 |
0 |
16 |
| Carcharhinus falciformis, |
silky |
3 |
0 |
3 |
| Carcharhinus galapagensis, |
Galapagos |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Carcharhinus leucas, |
bull |
66 |
26 |
92 |
| Carcharhinus limbatus, |
blacktip |
28 |
0 |
28 |
| Carcharhinus longimanus, |
oceanic whitetip |
7 |
3 |
10 |
| Carcharhinus melanopterus, |
blacktip reef |
11 |
0 |
11 |
| Carcharhinus obscurus, |
dusky |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Carcharhinus perezi, |
Caribbean reef |
4 |
0 |
4 |
| Carcharhinus plumbeus, |
sandbar |
5 |
0 |
5 |
| Carcharhinus spp., |
requiem |
23 |
7 |
30 |
| Carcharias taurus, |
sand tiger |
29 |
1 |
30 |
| Carcharias spp., |
lamniform |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Carcharodon carcharias, |
white |
198 |
74 |
272 |
| Galeocerdo cuvier, |
tiger |
71 |
29 |
100 |
| Galeorhinus galeus |
tope |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Ginglymostoma cirratum, |
nurse |
10 |
0 |
10 |
Heterodontis portusjacksoni, |
port jackson |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Isistius brasiliensis, |
cookiecutter |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Isurus oxyrinchus, |
shortfin mako |
11 |
1 |
12 |
| Isurus spp., |
mako |
4 |
0 |
4 |
| Lamna nasus, |
porbeagle |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Negaprion brevirostris, |
lemon |
10 |
0 |
10 |
| Notorhynchus cepedianus, |
sevengill |
5 |
0 |
5 |
| Odontaspis spp., |
sand |
9 |
0 |
9 |
| Orectolobus macalatus, |
spotted wobbegong |
4 |
0 |
4 |
| Orectolobus spp., |
wobbegong |
11 |
0 |
11 |
| Prionace glauca |
blue |
9 |
4 |
13 |
| Rhinobatos spp., |
guitarfish |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Sphyrna spp., |
hammerhead |
17 |
0 |
17 |
| Triaenodon obesus, |
whitetip reef |
5 |
0 |
5 |
| Triakis semifasciata, |
leopard |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Trygonorrhina fasciata |
southern fiddler |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| TOTALS |
35+ species |
590 |
149 |
739 |
Last updated: February 19, 2013
© International Shark Attack File
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
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