Here at the National Marine Aquarium we house over 60 sharks and rays from more than fifteen different species. The sharks on display range in size from the tiny Coral Cat Shark in our Coral Seas exhibit to our huge Sand Tiger Sharks in the Atlantic Ocean exhibit. Here are just a selection…

Sand Tiger Sharks Carcharius taurus  
IUCN Vulnerable (2005)
Our three Sand Tigers, Emily, Howie and Enzo, have been at the Aquarium since opening and have now grown to around two and a half metres in length. They can be found in our Atlantic Ocean exhibit. These large, fearsome-looking sharks are actually very laid back, allowing our divers to enter and clean their exhibit twice a week. The hundreds of sharp pointy teeth filling their mouth are designed to catch bite-sized fish, which they grab and swallow whole. One of the most interesting things about sand tiger sharks is the way they reproduce. Female sand-tigers have two uteruses. During a gestation period of at least 9 months, numerous young emerge from eggs inside the mother. The strongest pup in each side of the mother eats all of its siblings in the same uterus before being born at around one metre in length.

Blacktip Reef Sharks Carcharhinus melanopterus
IUCN Red List Near Threatened (2005)
Our group of four Blacktips live in the Coral Seas exhibit with Snorkel our loggerhead turtle. These sharks are the smallest of all the reef sharks, reaching an average length of 1.5metres. Their small size enables them to weave amongst rocks and corals in search of injured or ill reef fish.

Common Stingray Dasyatis pastinaca
Our juvenile common stingrays can currently be found in our open-topped rock pool in our Shallow Water, Hidden Depths zone. These small stingrays are found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, where they tend to hunt in shallow water. Our rays were captive bred in the U.K. and can often be seen playing near the surface.

Brown Banded Bamboo Shark Chiloscyllium punctatum
IUCN Red List Near Threatened (2003)
These smooth, shiny sharks live amongst the rocks in our Coral Seas exhibit. These small, benthic sharks live in shallow water where they hunt for crabs in shallow pools. They have been known to survive in tidal pools only partially submerged in water for 12 hours!

Nurse Sharks Ginglymostoma cirratum
We have a group of young nurse sharks in our Atlantic Ocean exhibit. Currently under 1.5 metres in length, they are expected to reach over 3 metres. These slow sharks live on the seafloor and have barbels which allow them to taste for benthic animals such as crabs on the sand.

Starry Smooth Hound Mustelus asterias
This small shark is a local species, often mistaken for the much faster and larger Tope shark. But, whereas tope have sharp blade-like teeth for catching fish, starry smooth hound have crushing teeth designed to break through crab shells. Our starry smooth hounds are incredibly friendly with the divers, doing whatever they can to steal morsels of food during the dive feeds.