Nurse sharks are true homebodies! These sluggish, bottom-dwelling sharks have relatively small home ranges and often sleep in the same location day after day — sometimes piled in with up to 40 other nurse sharks.
These large coastal sharks can grow to be up to 3 meters (10 feet) long, although sizes around 2.3—2.4 meters (7.5 — 8 feet) are more common. Their most notable feature is two sensory barbels that hang near their mouth, which may aid the shark in detecting prey.
Found in warm, coastal waters in the Atlantic Ocean, they feed mostly at night, using powerful suction to pull in prey like crustaceans, mollusks, fish, and stingrays. Nurse sharks rely primarily on sound, touch, smell and electroreception to find their prey, with each sense playing a different role in identifying, detecting, and catching their food. During the day, these sharks rest in caves, rocky crevices, or on the ocean floor, often in a group or pile with other nurse sharks.