Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Leptochariidae (Barbeled houndsharks)
Etymology: Leptocharias: Etymology not explained, perhaps leptos (Gr.), slender; [Car]charias, i.e., a slender shark “very nearly related to Carcharias”. (See ETYFish); smithii: In honor of Andrew Smith (1797-1872), Scottish military physician, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist, who collected many South African sharks and coined many of the shark names later used by Müller and Henle. (See ETYFish).
More on authors: Müller & Henle.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 10 - 75 m (Ref. 244), usually 10 - 60 m (Ref. 5377). Tropical; 20°C - 27°C; 22°N - 23°S, 26°W - 17°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: Mauritania to Namibia (Ref. 127434).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 77.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 244); 82.0 cm TL (female); common length : 55.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26999)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Similar to species of Mustelus but nostrils with anterior flaps formed into distinct barbels (Ref. 5485).

Found on the continental shelf, especially abundant off river mouths on muddy bottoms. Salinity: 35-36 ppt. Oxygen: 3-4 ppm. Feeds on small bottom and littoral organisms like crustaceans, bony fishes, octopi and sponges. Viviparous (Ref. 50449), with 7 young in a litter (Ref. 244). Dental sexual dimorphism is manifested by males having greatly enlarged anterior teeth. Utilized fresh, smoked or dried salted for human consumption, skin for leather.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Viviparous, placental (Ref. 50449), with 7 young in a litter (Ref. 244). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Vulnerable (VU) (A2d); Date assessed: 04 August 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators

Ecology
Ecology

Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances

Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics

Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos

Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths

Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)

Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities

Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.

Outreach
Collaborators

Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures

References
References

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 19.2 - 28, mean 26 °C (based on 116 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 1.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.8 ±0.49 se; based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=7).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (53 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Leptocharias smithii (Müller & Henle, 1839)