Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes
(Ground sharks) > Hemigaleidae
Etymology: Hemigaleus: Greek, hemis = the half + Greek,galeos = a shark (Ref. 45335); australiensis: Named for its qeographic range of this species; off tropical Australia.. More on author: Last.
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; demersal; depth range 12 - 170 m (Ref. 56150). Tropical
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 60 - 65 cm
Max length : 110 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 56150)
Morphology | Morphometrics
Diagnosis: Medium-sized shark with moderately long head; dorsal fins slightly raked back, moderately or not falcate, moderately low; height of first dorsal fin 2.6-3 in head length (HL); length of first dorsal fin 2.1-2.4 times its height; caudal-fin upper lobe moderately broad, not elongate; caudal-fin ventral lobe short, preventral margin 9.3-9.8% TL; pectoral fins broad, falcate, base length 2.1-2.4 in preventral caudal margin; claspers of adults moderately short, inner length 5.4-5.6% TL, 1.8-1.8 in pelvic midpoint to first dorsal-fin insertion; teeth in 28-30/46-52 rows; precaudal vertebral centra 65-70, total vertebral centra 112-121; second dorsal fin with a conspicuous dark tip; first dorsal fin with a pale posterior margin (Ref. 56150).
Eastern Indian Ocean to Western Pacific: Australia and where records from Papua New Guinea need to be confirmed.
A predominantly demersal species on continental and insular shelves from shallow, inshore bays down to 170 meters. Sexual maturity of males reached at about 60 cm TL; females between 60 - 65 cm TL; with young are born at about 30 cm TL (Ref. 56150).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
White, W.T., P.R. Last and L.J.V. Compagno, 2005. Description of a new species of weasel shark, Hemigaleus australiensis (Carcharhiniformes: Hemigaleidae) from Australian waters. Zootaxa 1077:37-49. (Ref. 56150)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.7539 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00372 (0.00140 - 0.00985), b=3.11 (2.88 - 3.34), based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)Family-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.4 ±0.1 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years ().
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate to high vulnerability (47 of 100) .