A Scottish tourist is believed to have been attacked and eaten by a shark after authorities on the island of Reunion found his severed hand inside the beast, the Scotsman reports.

The unnamed tourist's hand was discovered, with the wedding ring still on his finger, inside the body of a tiger shark on the Indian Ocean isle on Wednesday.

It's been widely reported the hand belonged to a 44-year-old man from Scotland who had been holidaying on the island with his wife but vanished after going for a swim.

It is understood the shark was killed because he was considered a threat to holidaymakers on the French overseas territory. The island, which sits on the so-called 'Shark Highway' between South Africa and Australia, has had 10 fatal shark attacks since the year 2000.

An investigating source told The Sun said: "It is feared that the hand belonged to a tourist who was reported missing on Saturday afternoon by his wife.

"The tourist and his wife were spending a week on the island and he had gone out swimming in the Hermitage Lagoon, off Saint-Gilles, alone on Saturday.

"When he did not get back, his wife sounded the alarm, and a full search was launched, involving boats and a helicopter.

"Divers searched around a coral reef in the area, and there were also patrols on land involving sniffer dogs. Sadly, the man could not be found."