A record of ovophagy in the Sandtiger Shark, Carcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810 (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii)

Abstract

A pregnant female of Carcharias taurus was captured in 70m depth, about 500m off Ilha das Palmas, in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Rio de Janeiro (RJ), in June 2002. The 2,400mm TL adult female had in one of its uterus a male embryo of 577mm TL and 1,129.9g, and in the other a female embryo of 570mm TL and 1,255.5g. Both had their digestive ducts full of a semi-digested mass of macerated unfertilized eggs. The gut contents of the 577mm embryo included three calcified teeth of the species measuring 0,97mm. Both embryos had their dentition formed and calcified. The ovary of the adult female weighted 3.235,7g and included 6.680 unfertilized eggs. The present study confirms ovophagy in C. taurus through the contents of the digestive tracts of both embryos, but not adelphophagy, since the teeth found may rather indicate that the process of teeth replacement in this species may start during the embryonic phase.