title: Fatal tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier attack in New Caledonia erroneously ascribed to great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias.
abstract: To understand the causes and patterns of shark attacks on humans, accurate identification of the shark species involved is necessary. Often, the only reliable evidence for this comes from the characteristics of the wounds exhibited by the victim. The present case report is intended as a reappraisal of the Luengoni, 2007 case (International Shark Attack File no. 4299) where a single shark bite provoked the death of a swimmer by haemorrhagic shock. Our examination of the wounds on the body of the victim, here documented by so-far unpublished photographic evidence, determined that the shark possessed large and homodontous jaws. This demonstrates that the attacker was a tiger shark, not a great white shark as previously published.
authors.affiliation: Institut de recherche pour le développement, Nouméa, New Caledonia.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tirard
authors.affiliation: Collectif des médecins judiciaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie/Forensic Medical Board of New Caledonia, Nouméa, New Caledonia.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maillaud
authors.affiliation: Institut de recherche pour le développement, Nouméa, New Caledonia. Electronic address: philippe.borsa@ird.fr.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borsa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007568:Jaw / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009510:New Caledonia; D010781:Photography; D012754:Sharks; D013045:Species Specificity; D013848:Thigh / Q000293:injuries; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000473:pathology
keywords: ISAF; Misidentification; New Caledonia; Shark attack; Wound