Hemigaleus microstoma, Sicklefin weasel shark : fisheries

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Hemigaleus microstoma Bleeker, 1852

Sicklefin weasel shark
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Hemigaleus microstoma   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Hemigaleus microstoma (Sicklefin weasel shark)
Hemigaleus microstoma
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Hemigaleidae (Weasel sharks)
Etymology: Hemigaleus: hemi-, from hemisys (Gr.), half, referring to similarity to and/or close affinity with Galeus (now in Pentanchidae). (See ETYFish);  microstoma: micro-, from mikros (Gr.), small; stoma (Gr.), mouth, referring to very short arched mouth compared with Chaenogaleus macrostoma, its presumed congener at the time. (See ETYFish).
More on author: Bleeker.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal. Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 244); 28°N - 30°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-West Pacific: southern India and Sri Lanka; China to Indonesia (Ref. 56150). Also from Red Sea (Ref. 93009).

Specimens found in Australia (and probably Papua New Guinea) belong to a separate species, Hemigaleus australiensis (Ref. 56150).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 78 - ? cm
Max length : 114 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 58048)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. Australian specimens with dark-tipped fins; tooth counts 28-34/43-54; total vertebral counts 111 to 118 (Ref. 13567). Indonesian, Singapore and Thailand specimens with light-tipped fins; tooth counts 25-32/37-43; total vertebral counts 137 to 150 (Ref. 13567). Grey-brown above, lighter below, dorsal fins with white tips and posterior margins, sometimes with spots on sides of body (Ref. 13567).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A small, relatively common inshore and offshore shark of tropical continental seas (Ref. 13567). Feeds mainly on cephalopods, particularly octopi (Ref. 13567) but also takes crustaceans and cephalopods (Ref. 244). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Taken regularly in inshore artisanal fisheries (Ref.244), commonly caught by inshore gillnet, bottom trawl and, to a lesser extent, longline fisheries. Utilized for human consumption (Ref. 244). Offal used for fishmeal (Ref. 244).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta; 4 to 14 fetuses in a litter (Ref. 13567); 2-4 pups after a gestation period of about 6 months; born at about 45-47 cm TL (Ref. 58048). Size of full-term fetuses (detached umbilical cords and placentae) ranges from 23.7 to 25.6 cm (Ref. 244). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

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. 130435)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2d); Date assessed: 06 November 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 13567)





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 22.2 - 28.3, mean 27 °C (based on 816 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.7539   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00331 (0.00140 - 0.00781), b=3.06 (2.85 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.2   ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=4).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (68 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 27.9 [4.5, 154.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.693 [0.182, 2.119] mg/100g; Protein = 19 [17, 21] %; Omega3 = 0.114 [0.048, 0.271] g/100g; Selenium = 54.1 [16.0, 167.0] μg/100g; VitaminA = 22.3 [7.2, 70.4] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.769 [0.374, 1.395] mg/100g (wet weight);