Reproductive System
Claspers - are rolls of cartilage that become hardened with calcium in the adult. The presence or absence of these claspers make it very easy to differentiate males from females. Males also have paired testes, however the right one is always more developed than the left, which may be smaller or absent altogether.
Testes - are internal and are located in the anterior end of the body cavity within the epigonal organ. The urinary and reproductive tracts join together to form the urogenital sinus. From there the sperm is eventually released into the groove of the claspers and is then delivered to the female during copulation.
Females do not have claspers. Instead they have a cloacal opening (as do the males) between the pelvic fins. The internal ovaries are found anteriorly in the body cavity and are paired. Another marked difference between the male and female sharks of some species is the thickness of their skin. The skin on a female blue shark is nearly twice as thick as that of males. It is believed that this is because of the viciousness of mating.
Tiger Sharks are ovoviviparous which means the eggs are fertilized inside the female by the male. The pups develop inside the the female sharks until birth.
Testes - are internal and are located in the anterior end of the body cavity within the epigonal organ. The urinary and reproductive tracts join together to form the urogenital sinus. From there the sperm is eventually released into the groove of the claspers and is then delivered to the female during copulation.
Females do not have claspers. Instead they have a cloacal opening (as do the males) between the pelvic fins. The internal ovaries are found anteriorly in the body cavity and are paired. Another marked difference between the male and female sharks of some species is the thickness of their skin. The skin on a female blue shark is nearly twice as thick as that of males. It is believed that this is because of the viciousness of mating.
Tiger Sharks are ovoviviparous which means the eggs are fertilized inside the female by the male. The pups develop inside the the female sharks until birth.