Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes
(Ground sharks) > Carcharhinidae
Etymology: Carcharhinus: Greek, karcharos = sharpen + Greek, rhinos = nose (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 0 - 600 m (Ref. 244), usually 50 - 100 m (Ref. 244). Subtropical; 11°C - 16°C (Ref. 244); 39°N - 43°S, 85°W - 15°E (Ref. 55190)
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 150 - 205 cm
Max length : 280 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 244); common length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26999); max. published weight: 76.7 kg (Ref. 40637)
soft rays: 0. A slim shark with a very long, pointed snout, large eyes, and small jaws with oblique-cusped serrated upper teeth; dorsal fins low with elongated rear tips; interdorsal ridge present (Ref. 5578). Grey-brown above, white below; no conspicuous fin markings (Ref. 5578).
Western Atlantic: Delaware to Florida (USA), Bahamas, and Cuba; southern Brazil, Argentina. Eastern Atlantic: Senegal to Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana to Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, off northern Namibia (Ref. 5578).
Coastal and semi-oceanic species found on or along outer continental and insular shelves (Ref. 244). Found to depths of 40 m (Ref. 26938). Forms schools (Ref. 244). Nocturnal (Ref. 5578), and feeding mainly on small bony fishes and squid (Ref. 244). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Off West Africa, recorded water parameters at 90 to 285 m, where it was caught includes: temperature = 11 to 16°C; salinity = 36 ppt; oxygen = 1.81 ml/l (Ref. 244). Not known to be dangerous to people (Ref. 244).
Viviparous, placental (Ref. 50449), with 4 to 12 young in a litter (Ref. 244). Size at birth about 60 cm (Ref. 244). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).
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. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00490 (0.00312 - 0.00769), b=3.08 (2.95 - 3.21), based on LWR estimates for species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.6 ±0.0 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (tm=8-10; Fec=4; Tmax=17; K=0.12).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): High to very high vulnerability (73 of 100) .