Galapagos or Sandbar sharks?

[VBlueV]

Ewa Pinnacles this morning..
spied a school of a couple dozen sharks.

i think this one's a Galapagos shark with a Sandbar shark in the background..

and this one a Sandbar shark because the dorsal is taller and more triangular.

plus, video of one that got a bit too close..


can anyone confirm or correct these I.D.s?
ty

(bcyber has some shots too.. maybe he could post his soon)

 

[smellzlikefish]

The video and pic# 2 are both sandbars for sure. Pic #1 is a strange angle. Galapagos seems like a good guess based on the smaller 1st dorsal fin, but it looks to have a strong interdorsal ridge as is found on sandbars (look between the st and 2nd dorsal fin at :05 and :06 on the video). Further, the 1st dorsal meets with the back at about the same place (immediately over /2 the pec fin) as a sandbar. Galapagos dorsal fins seem to place a little further back. Finally, most galapagos sharks I've seen have darker trailing edges on their fins, while this one clearly has a light trailing edge on its pectoral fin. Pending its approximate size (and risking any shaky credibility I ever had on here), I would guess the first pic is a thin sandbar. The strange shaped first dorsal fin could be because the pic was taken from slightly above the shark. Too bad you weren't further offshore to confuse the issue more by including big-nosed sharks (Carcharhinus altimus) in the mix. Cool experience nonetheless! How deep were you?

 

[sea nmf]

Did you have any fish at that point (it looks as if you were hunting, anyway)?

 

[icemn2003]

Hey guys, here's the one of JJ that was good, I'll email you more so you can host them if you'd like- ours not as good due to camera settings issues on the dive- great dive though!

sea nmf- not hunting, had the spears to poke away sharks that might get too close.

 

[smellzlikefish]

Hey Ice-Is that a loose school of Kahala in the background of your pic?

 

[VBlueV]

yeah, Amberjacks.. big school of large (3 to 4 foot) Kahala..
here's a close-up photo of one of 'em shot by Anne G..

and sea_nmf.. as icemn said..
we weren't trying to make blood-trails in the water.. we were trying to prevent them ; )
using the three-prongs as bang-sticks if required.
(more of a security blanket than anything else =)

most the sharks were approx. 6 to 8 feet in length..
tho' there were three bigger ones lumbering deeper at 110 to 120fsw.
the main school prowled at 70 to 100fsw..
but, at the end of the dive..
they frenzied, then tried to follow us back to the boat and came up to 50fsw =O

here's a link to bcyber's and icemn's photos from the dives..
https://scubadave.sugarsync.com/albums/thumb/459953_12916
mahalo to Dave, Anne, Jason, and Anna for diving with me and gettin' my back.

 

[sea nmf]

So you knew there would be curious sharks about. Is that because it is a popular hunting area or for some other reason? (Nice to have protection)

 

[scubadrewvideo]

I agree with those ID's
But those 3 prongs are so long, the sharks never really get what I consider close....

Here is a Galapagos from the north shore.
Now this is close!

 

[VBlueV]

I agree with those ID's
But those 3 prongs are so long, the sharks never really get what I consider close....
Now this is close!

good one Drew! =D
your 2 feet of camera housing is a lot closer
than my 6 foot three-prong allowed 'em to get =P

great footage!
next time.. we'll chum the water too.. ; )