Sand Tiger Sharks are generally coastal, usually found from the surf zone down to depths of around 25 m. It may also occasionally be found in shallow bays, around coral reefs and, very rarely, to depths of around 200 m on the continental shelf. They usually live near the bottom, but may also move throughout the water column (Compagno 1984). This species occurs either alone or in small to medium-sized aggregations of 20-80 individuals (Silvester 1977, Aitken 1991). Populations of this species (off South Africa and the east coast of the USA) are known to be philopatric undertaking complex size and sex segregated migrations habitually returning to their breeding area (Bass et al. 1975, Gilmore 1993, Musick et al. 1993). This species reaches a maximum size of approximately 325 cm total length (TL), with females maturing at approximately 220 cm TL. The maximum age is 17 years with females maturing at 9.5 years with a generation span of approximately 13.25 years based on Atlantic studies (Goldman 2002). They are ovoviviparous and usually only two pups are born per litter once every two years. This is because the remaining eggs and developing embryos are eaten by the largest and/or most advanced embryo in each horn of the uterus (a phenomenon known as adelphophagy or uterine cannibalism). The gestation period may last from 9-12 months and size at birth is relatively large, at about 1 m (Gilmore et al. 1983, Gilmore 1993).