click for previous page Carcharhinidae 1349 Galeocerdo cuvier (Peron and LeSueur in LeSueur, 1822) Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Galeocerdo arcticus (Faber, 1829); G. rayneri McDonald and Barron, 1868 / None. FAO names: En - Tiger shark; Fr - Requin tigre commun (= Requin tigre, Area 31); Sp - Tintorera. Diagnostic characters: A large, fusiform shark. Snout very short and bluntly rounded, its upper length much less than width of mouth; labial spiracles small, slit-like, but easily visible; upper furrow labial furrows about as long as snout, reaching to front of eyes; teeth coarsely serrated, their outer edges deeply notched and the tips directed obliquely outward, their inner edges broadly convex. Second dorsal fin much smaller than first. A low rounded keel on ventral view upper and lower each side of caudal peduncle. Colour: back of head tooth near centre dark grey or greyish brown with dark brown or black rectangular spots often forming bars on sides and fins, but fading with growth. Size: Maximum total length at least 6.5 m; commonly to 4 m; size at birth between 60 cm and 1.04 m. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Inhabits coastal, and offshore waters, near the surface and bottom; often found in shallow waters close inshore, including river estuaries. Ovoviviparous and very prolific with 10 to 82 young in a litter. A voracious, indiscriminate predator feeding on all kinds of fish (including other sharks and rays), marine mammals, turtles, seabirds, sea snakes, squids, conchs, and crabs. Often swallows a variety of undigestible and non-nutritive items, and readily feeds on carrion. Considered among the most dangerous of sharks because of its shallow-water habitat, large jaws and teeth, indiscriminate appetite, and large size; several attacks on people have been recorded for this species. Caught in floating and bottom gill nets and with line gear (including pelagic longlines). Utilized for its high-quality hide, for its fins, liver oil and flesh, and offal for fishmeal. Distribution: Circumglobal in most tropical seas, with seasonal migrations into warm-temperate to temperate seas. 1350 Sharks Lamiopsis temmincki (Müller and Henle, 1839) Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Carcharhinus temmincki (Müller and Henle, 1839); Eulamia temmincki (Müller and Henle, 1839) / Negaprion acutidens (Rüppell, 1837). FAO names: En - Broadfin shark; Fr - Requin grandes ailes; Sp - Tiburón aleton. Diagnostic characters: A small to medium-sized shark. Body moderately stout. Snout moderately long, parabolic in shape, its length about equal to mouth width and greater than distance between nostrils; labial furrows short; anterior nasal flaps with a short, broad lobe; spiracles absent; teeth in upper jaw with high, broadly triangular, erect to semioblique, serrated cusps, and no cusplets; teeth in lower jaw with erect, high, hooked, smooth-edged narrow cusps, and no cusplets. ventral view upper and lower First dorsal fin moderately large, with a narrowly of head tooth near centre rounded apex, its origin over inner margins of pectoral fins, its free rear tip moderately long; second dorsal fin very large, nearly or quite as large as first dorsal, its inner margin shorter than fin height, its origin anterior to anal-fin origin; pectoral fins moderately long, basally very broad and not falcate with narrowly rounded tips; anal fin with posterior margin slightly concave; upper precaudal pit a shallow longitudinal depression, not transverse and crescentic. No dermal ridge between dorsal fins, and no keels on caudal peduncle. Colour: grey or yellow-grey above, lighter below; no conspicuous markings. Size: Maximum total length about 1.7 m; size at birth between 40 and 60 cm. Habitat, biology,and fisheries: A little-known coastal, inshore, tropical shark.Viviparous, number of young 4 to 8 per litter. Probably feeds on small fishes and invertebrates. Not known to be dangerous to people. Caught in bottom and floating gill nets and with line gear. Meat utilized fresh for human consumption; livers used for vitamin oil. Distribution: Known from scattered localities in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific off Pakistan, India, Burma, Indonesia (Makassar Straits), Sarawak, and China. Carcharhinidae 1351 Loxodon macrorhinus Müller and Henle, 1839 Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Scoliodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837); S. ceylonensis Setna and Sarangdhar, 1946 / Scoliodon laticaudus Müller and Henle, 1838; Carcharhinus macloti (Müller and Henle, 1838). FAO names: En - Sliteye shark; Fr - Requin sagrin; Sp - Tiburón ojuelo. Diagnostic characters: A small, very slender shark. Snout very long, parabolic in shape, its length greater than mouth width and distance between nostrils; labial furrows very short; anterior nasal flaps with a short, broadly triangular lobe; eyes large, with a posterior notch; spiracles absent; teeth in both jaws with low, narrow, oblique, smooth-edged cusps, and no cusplets. First dorsal fin small, its origin behind free rear tips of pectoral ventral view upper and lower fins by a distance greater than length of fourth of head tooth near centre gill opening, its base 2 or 3 times in distance between pectoral and pelvic-fin bases, its free rear tip moderately long and not reaching backward to pelvic-fin origins; second dorsal fin very small, its height less than 1/3 of that of first dorsal fin, the inner margin elongated and over twice the fin height and the fin origin usually just behind anal-fin insertion (occasionally over or slightly in front of it, but far behind anal midbase); pectoral fins small, narrow and slightly falcate; anal fin with a slightly concave posterior margin and long preanal ridges.Upper precaudal pit transverse and crescentic; no keels on caudal peduncle; interdorsal ridge usually absent. Colour: grey above, pale below, fins with pale edges (transparent in life), caudal and first dorsal fins with narrow dark margin, first dorsal fin also with a dusky tip. Size: Maximum total length about 91 cm; maturing at 73 to 85 cm; size at birth about 40 to 43 cm. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Occurs in tropical, coastal, clear waters, near the surface and bottom, inshore and offshore at depths from 7 to 80 m. Viviparous number of young usually 2 in a litter. Feeds on small bony fishes, including anchovies and croakers, and shrimp and cuttlefish. Harmless to people.Caught in artisanal and small scale commercial fisheries with floating and bottom gill nets and with line gear (including pelagic longlines). Utilized fresh for human consumption. Distribution: In the Indo-West Pacific from South Africa, southern Mozambique, Madagascar, Seychelles and the Red Sea eastward to India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, Taiwan Province of China, the Philippines, and Australia. 1352 Sharks Negaprion acutidens (Rüppell, 1837) Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / Lamiopsis temmincki (Müller and Henle, 1839). FAO names: En - Sicklefin lemon shark; Fr - Requin citron faucille; Sp - Tiburón segador. Diagnostic characters: A large, stout shark. Snout short (shorter than width of mouth) and broad, rounded or obtusely wedge-shaped; labial folds short; spiracles usually absent; teeth narrow, their cusps smooth-edged, erect in anterior part of jaws, but becoming progressively oblique toward the sides; bases of upper teeth smooth or weakly serrated. Origin of first dorsal fin over or behind ventral view upper and lower free rear tips of pectoral fins, closer to these fins of head tooth near centre than to the pelvic fins; second dorsal fin nearly as large as the first (its base more than 3/4 of first dorsal-fin base); pectoral fins broad and strongly falcate, pelvic fins falcate. No dermal ridge between dorsal fins. Colour: yellowish brown above, paler below. Size: Maximum total length about 3 m; maturing at about 2.2 m; size at birth about 50 to 70 cm. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Occurs in tropical, shallow inshore and offshore waters near the bottom; often found on and around coral reefs and on sandy plateaus near coral, at depths down to at least 30 m. Viviparous, 12 or 13 young in a litter. A fish-eating shark, but few details of its diet are available from the area. Potentially dangerous because of its large size, powerful jaws and dagger-like teeth; normally inoffensive and sluggish but very aggressive when provoked. Caught in floating and bottom gill nets and on line gear (including floating longlines). Used fresh and dried-salted for human consumption; livers processed for vitamin oil; offal processed for fishmeal; and fins are processed for shark-fin soup base. Distribution: Wide-ranging in the Indian Ocean and western Central Pacific, extending from South Africa to the Australianregionand Oceania. Carcharhinidae 1353 Prionace glauca (Linnaeus, 1758) Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None. FAO names: En - Blue shark; Fr - Peau bleue; Sp - Tiburón azul. Diagnostic characters: very slender, fusiform shark. Snout long, (its length greater than mouth width) and narrowly rounded; upper labial furrows very short; spiracles absent; nictitating eyelids present; teeth serrated, broadly triangular and curved in upper jaw, narrower in lower jaw; upper medial tooth very large, nearly the size of teeth on either side of it (but sometimes absent); inner gill arches with gill-raker papillae (visible through open mouth). First dorsal-fin origin well posterior to free rear tips of ventral view upper and lower pectoral fins, the midpoint of its base closer to of head tooth near centre pelvic fin than to pectoral-fin origins; second dorsal fin much smaller than first; pectoral fins very long, narrow and somewhat falcate. A weak keel present of sides of caudal peduncle. No interdorsal ridge. Colour: in life, dark blue above, bright blue on sides, white below, fading to purple blackish after death; tips of pectoral fins and anal fin dusky. Size: Maximum total length about 3.8 m, though larger specimens (up to 4.8 to 6.5 m) are mentioned on poor evidence in the literature; most specimens below 3.35 m. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A slow-cruising, very common oceanic species capable of bursts of speed when excited.