Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes
(Ground sharks) > Carcharhinidae
Etymology: Carcharhinus: Greek, karcharos = sharpen + Greek, rhinos = nose (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 360 m (Ref. 58018). Subtropical; 45°N - 52°S
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 230.0, range 245 - 240 cm
Max length : 325 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2334); max. published weight: 304.6 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 30 years (Ref. 3209)
soft rays: 0. A large shark to with a bluntly pointed, broad snout, narrow, bent cusps on the upper teeth, and with no interdorsal ridge (Ref. 5578). Grey to bronzy in color, white below (Ref. 5578); fins mostly plain except for dusky tips on pelvic fins, as well as dusky to black tips and rear edges on pectoral fins (Ref. 9997).
Western Atlantic: Mexico, Gulf of Mexico, Brazil to Argentina. Eastern Atlantic: off France southward and around the coast of southern Africa to central Natal, South Africa (Ref. 5578), including the Mediterranean. Possibly two separate populations in southern Africa (Ref. 3209). Western Pacific: Japan to New Zealand. Eastern Pacific: southern California, USA to the Gulf of California in Mexico and Peru.
A coastal and offshore shark (Ref. 9997) found along continental margins in most tropical and temperate seas. Occasionally enters large coastal bays and inshore areas (Ref. 6390). Occasionally found near the bottom (Ref. 6808). Migratory in the northern part of its range, moving northward in spring and summer and southward in autumn and winter (Ref. 244). Feeds on pelagic and bottom bony fishes, cephalopods, and small sharks and rays (Ref. 5578). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Undoubtedly utilized for human consumption where it occurs (Ref. 244). Implicated in shark attacks on people (Ref. 9997).
Viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta. Litter contains 7 to 20 pups (Ref. 6871, 6390). Young born at 59 - 70 cm TL (Ref. 6390). Pupping may occur at any time of the year but there is a peak in births in summer (Ref. 6390). 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)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic (Ref. 4690)
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
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=0.00550 (0.00267 - 0.01131), b=3.09 (2.92 - 3.26), based on LWR estimates for species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.5 ±0.0 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.04; tm=5-20; tmax=30; Fec=7).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Very high vulnerability (87 of 100) .