| Family: |
Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks) |
| Max. size: |
286 cm TL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 123 kg; max. reported age: 12 years |
| Environment: |
reef-associated; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 140 m, amphidromous |
| Distribution: |
Cosmopolitan. Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada to Brazil (Ref. 26340). Eastern Atlantic: Senegal to Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Mediterranean (Ref. 244). Indo-Pacific: Persian Gulf (Ref. 68964), Red Sea, Madagascar and South Africa to China, Australia, Tahiti, Marquesas, and Hawaii. Eastern Pacific: Baja California, Mexico to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands. |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0-0; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 0-0. A stout shark with a long, narrow, pointed snout, long gill slits and erect, narrow-cusped upper teeth; first dorsal fin high; no interdorsal ridge (Ref. 5578). Dark grey, ashy blue or dusky bronze on back, belly white or yellowish white; a dark band extending rearward along each side to about over origin of pelvic fin; tips of pelvic fins with a persistent black spot; tips of dorsal fins, pectoral fins, anal, and lower lobe of caudal fin usually black or dusky in young individuals, fading with growth (Ref. 9997). |
| Biology: |
An inshore and offshore shark found on or adjacent to continental and insular shelves (Ref. 244). Often off river mouths and estuaries, muddy bays, mangrove swamps, lagoons, and coral reef drop-offs (Ref. 244). Bottom associated or pelagic (Ref. 58302). Young common along beaches (Ref. 9710). Active hunter in midwater (Ref. 5485). Feeds mainly on pelagic and benthic fishes, also small sharks and rays, cephalopods and crustaceans (Ref. 5578; 37816). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Produces litters of one to 10 young (Ref. 26938, 1602). Incriminated in very few attacks but dangerous when provoked (Ref. 244). Often taken by shore anglers (Ref. 5485). Used fresh for human consumption, hides for leather, liver for oil (Ref. 244). Parthenogenesis has been observed in a captive female (Ref. 80664). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 18 November 2020 (A2bd) Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
traumatogenic |
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