This rare footage shows two sand tiger sharks mating at a US aquarium as the male uses its sharp fangs to move the female into a better position.

The sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus) were filmed romping in their tank at Tennessee Aquarium in the city of Chattanooga in the US state of Tennessee.

The video was shared online by the aquarium on 13th February with the message: “Recently, the always-live webcam in the Secret Reef exhibit captured rarely seen footage of mating behaviour between Sand Tiger Sharks.

“Although seemingly dangerous, female Sand Tigers are equipped to endure males’ ‘love bites’ with no lasting damage. If mating is successful, it could be more than a year before she ‘births’ a pair of pups.”

The Aquarium’s director of aquatic collection and life support systems, Thom Demas, said: “Male Sand Tigers must fertilise the female’s eggs internally. In order to orient themselves and their partner for successful fertilisation during mating, males turn to the one tool they have available to them: their teeth.

“If they’re facing the same direction, he’ll typically grab the female by the large fin that sticks out of her side and contort his body around her.

“Sometimes, the males even use their jaws to orient the females into better positions.”

Demas added: “It appears pretty vicious, but that’s how these sharks reproduce, they’re designed for this. Their skin is made of tough ‘scales’ called dermal denticles and can be much thicker than males.

“While they do get some injuries during mating, they’re usually superficial, and they heal.”

The species, listed as endangered in 2020, has a low birth rate due to intrauterine cannibalism. The aquarium explained: “During internal development, the largest Sand Tiger embryo in each uterus will gain nourishment by consuming its smaller siblings, leading to a litter size of just two pups.

“This practice, also known as intrauterine cannibalism, means this species has one of the lowest reproductive rates of any shark.”