Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 92 m (Ref. 244). Tropical; 30°N - 32°S, 32°E - 140°W (Ref. 244)
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 220 - 240 cm
Max length : 380 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5213)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 0;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 0;
Anal
spines: 0;
Anal
soft rays: 0. A large, stocky, yellowish shark with a broad, blunt snout, narrow, smooth-cusped teeth in both jaws, and equal-sized dorsal fins (Ref. 5578). Yellowish brown above, paler below (Ref. 9997). With two nearly equally large dorsal fins (Ref. 37816).
Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and South Africa (including Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar) to Philippines, north to Viet Nam, south to Australia. Also from Palau, Marshall Islands, and Tahiti. Recorded from Taiwan (Ref. 4868).
Found on continental and insular shelves and terraces (Ref. 244). Common on coral reefs (Ref. 5578) and in shallow, sandy lagoons and turbid, mangrove swamps (Ref. 6871). Feeds on smaller sharks, stingrays and on benthic bony fishes (Ref. 5578). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Dangerous if provoked (Ref. 244). 1 to 11 of 45 cm young are born per litter (Ref. 1602). Meat is utilized fresh and dried salted for human consumption, fins for shark-fin soup base, and liver oil for vitamins (Ref. 244).
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.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.7500 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00000 (0.00000 - 0.00000), b=0.00 (0.00 - 0.00), based on (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 4.1 ±0.7 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=1).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (78 of 100) .