Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788)

Thintail thresher

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Elasmobranchii \| Lamniformes \| Alopiidae
Synonyms	Squalus vulpinus, Alopecias barrae, Alopecias chilensis, ... more
Common names	Thresher, Renard, Zorro, ... more

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Image of Alopias vulpinus (Thintail thresher)

Picture by Steele, M.A.

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AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Main reference

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. (Ref. 247)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 760 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6885); 549 cm TL (female); common length : 450 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); max. published weight: 348.0 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 25 years (Ref. 81241)

Environment

Pelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); marine; depth range 0 - 550 m (Ref. 26346), usually 0 - 200 m (Ref. 55168)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 67°N - 58°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 54279)

Cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical seas (Ref. 6871). Western Atlantic: Newfoundland, Canada to Cuba, Gulf of Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil to Argentina. Eastern Atlantic: Norway and British Isles to the Mediterranean, Morocco, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire; also Cape Province, South Africa. Indo-Pacific: scattered localities from the Gulf of Aden and East Africa to the Hawaiian, Society and Fanning islands. Eastern Pacific: Canada to Chile. Population considered reduced (R) in the US Atlantic waters; lower risk/conservation dependent (LR/CD) in US Pacific waters; data deficient (DD) in the rest of Atlantic and rest of Pacific (Ref. 12451). Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. A large thresher with relatively small eyes, curved, narrow-tipped pectoral fins, a narrow-tipped caudal fin, and a conspicuous white patch over the pectoral fin bases (Ref. 5578). Second dorsal origin well behind the rear tip of the pelvic fin (Ref. 559). Upper lobe of caudal fin very long and strap-like, about as long as or longer than length of rest of shark; lower lobe short but well developed (Ref. 13570). Brown, grey, blue-grey, or blackish on back and underside of snout, lighter on sides and abruptly white below; a white area extends from the abdomen over the pectoral-fin bases; pectoral-, pelvic-, and dorsal fins blackish, white dots sometimes present on pectoral-, pelvic-, and caudal- fin tips (Ref. 13570).

Coastal over continental and insular shelves and epipelagic far from land (Ref. 30573, 43278, 58302). Oceanic although most abundant near land, pelagic at 1-366 m (Ref. 58302). Young often close inshore and in shallow bays (Ref. 5578). Feeds on schooling fishes (including mackerels, bluefishes, clupeids, needlefishes, lancetfishes and lanternfishes), squid, octopi, pelagic crustaceans, and rarely seabirds (Ref. 247). Ovoviviparous, embryos feeding on yolk sac and other ova produced by the mother (Ref. 43278, 50449). Uses its long caudal fin to bunch up and stun prey (Ref. 2850). Spatial and depth segregation by sex in northwestern Indian Ocean populations (Ref. 247). A few attacks on boats are doubtfully attributed to this species, but it is otherwise apparently harmless to humans, though the size of adults of this species command respect (Ref. 247). May cause damage to fishing gear (Ref. 6885). Valued for its meat, liver, hide, and fins; utilized fresh, dried-salted, smoked, and frozen (Ref. 9987).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Data deficient (DD)	Harmless (Ref. 247)

Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

Tools
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Summary page \| Point data \| Common names \| Photos

Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.1; tm=5-7; tmax=19; Fec=2-4)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
High to very high vulnerability (65 of 100)	High

Entered by Carpenter, Kent E.

Modified by Froese, Rainer

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