---
title: "Nervous Shark"
description: "Carcharhinus cautus — Fish. The nervous shark (Carcharhinus cautus) is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, so named because of its timid behavior in regard to humans."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/nervous-shark
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Nervous Shark

> Carcharhinus cautus — Fish. The nervous shark (Carcharhinus cautus) is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, so named because of its timid behavior in regard to humans.

- Scientific name: *Carcharhinus cautus*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 44
- Wikidata: [Q1978204](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1978204)
- iNaturalist taxon: [96752](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/96752)

## Names

- en: Nervous Shark
- de: Nervöser Hai
- es: Tiburón Nervioso
- fr: Requin nerveux
- nl: Nerveuze haai

## Countries with the most observations

AU (41)

## Summary

The nervous shark (Carcharhinus cautus) is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, so named because of its timid behavior in regard to humans. It is common in shallow, coastal waters off northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. A small brownish or grayish shark typically measuring 1.0–1.3 m (3.3–4.3 ft) long, this species has a short, blunt snout, oval eyes, and a relatively large second dorsal fin. The leading margins of most fins are finely edged with black, and the lower caudal fin lobe is black-tipped.
Small bony fishes are the main prey of the nervous shark, while…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_shark

## Photo

![Nervous Shark](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/nervous-shark/medium.jpg)

Photo: bitsandbugs · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/396882733

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/nervous-shark?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).