 Shark expert Stewart Springer described the bignose shark as <unk> <unk> in a 1950 issue of the scientific journal American Museum Novitates . Later authors have regarded the genus <unk> as a synonym of Carcharhinus . The specific epithet altimus is derived from the Latin altus ( " deep " ) , and refers to the shark 's deepwater habits . The type specimen is an immature female 1 @.@ 3 m ( 4 @.@ 3 ft ) long , caught off Cosgrove Reef in the Florida Keys on April 2 , 1947 . An alternate common name for this species is Knopp 's shark , originally used by Florida fishery workers since before the species was described . 
