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Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788)
THRESHER SHARK
Atlantic Thresher; Common Thresher Shark; Fox Shark; Green Thresher; Thintail Thresher; Alopias caudatus Phillipps, 1932; Alopias greyi Whitley, 1937; Alopias macrourus Rafinesque, 1810; Squalus vulpinus Bonnaterre, 1788

Life   Vertebrata   Fish   Alopiidae   Alopias

Alopias vulpinus
© Copyright Ross Robertson, 2006 · 12
Alopias vulpinus

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Alopias vulpinus
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Alopias vulpinus
Alopias vulpinus
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Alopias vulpinus

Alopias vulpinus
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Alopias vulpinus
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Overview
Main identification features
  • snout short, broad; arched between eyes
  • tail fin slender
  • pectoral: curved, narrow tip
  • white above pectoral
Body stout, cylindrical; head short, rounded between eyes; snout short, conical; forehead profile convex; no groove on nape; eyes small, mouth small, ventral; teeth sharply triangular; gill openings - 5, short, last 2 over pectoral base; first dorsal large, ~midway between pectorals and pelvics; second dorsal and anal very small; pectorals ,very long, narrow, curved, with pointed tip; pelvics large; tail not lunate, upper lobe extremely long, ~equal to body length, fin very thin; no keels on tail base.

Back and under snout brown, grey, blue or blackish; belly abruptly white, this color extending over pectoral fin.

Size: 636 cm.

Habitat: oceanic, pelagic.

Depth: 0-550 m.

Circumtropical; Canada to Chile and throughout our region.


Attributes
Abundance: Common.
Cites: Not listed.
Climate Zone: North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California); Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap); Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos); Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo); South Temperate (Peruvian Province ).
Depth Range Max: 550 m.
Depth Range Min: 0 m.
Diet: octopus/squid/cuttlefish; bony fishes; Pelagic crustacea; sea snakes/mammals/turtles/birds.
Eastern Pacific Range: Northern limit=55; Southern limit=-55; Western limit=-135; Eastern limit=-77; Latitudinal range=110; Longitudinal range=58.
Egg Type: Live birth; No pelagic larva.
Feeding Group: Carnivore.
FishBase Habitat: Pelagic.
Global Endemism: Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans); East Pacific + Atlantic (East +/or West); Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America); East Pacific + all Atlantic (East+West); All Pacific (West + Central + East); TEP non-endemic; "Transpacific" (East + Central &/or West Pacific); All species.
Habitat: Water column.
Inshore Offshore: Offshore; Offshore Only.
IUCN Red List: Data deficient; Listed.
Length Max: 636 cm.
Regional Endemism: Island (s); Continent; Continent + Island (s); Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic; Eastern Pacific non-endemic; All species.
Residency: Resident.
Salinity: Marine; Marine Only.
Water Column Position: Mid Water; Near Surface; Surface; Water column only;


Names
Scientific source:

Links to other sites

References
  • Balart , E. F. , Castro-Aguirre , J. L. , Aurioles-Gamboa , D. , García-Rodriguez , F. and Villavicencio-Garayzar, C., 1995., Adiciones a la ictiofauna de Bahía de la Paz, Baja California Sur, México., Hidrobiologica, 5:79-85.
  • Bellido-Millán, J.M. and Villavicencio-Garayzar, C.J., 2002., Pesqueria artesanal de tiburon en la region central del Golfo de California. En: Lozano-Vilano, M. L. (Ed.). Libro Jubilar en Honor al Dr. Salvador Contreras Balderas., Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León:143-152.
  • Bonnaterre, J. P., 1788., Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique des trois règnes de la nature... Ichthyologie. Paris., Tabl. Encyclop. Méthod. Ichthyol., :1-215.
  • Béarez, P., 1996., Lista de los Peces Marinos del Ecuador Continental., Revista de Biologia Tropical, 44:731-741.
  • Castro-Aguirre, J.L. and Balart, E.F., 2002., La ictiofauna de las islas Revillagigedos y sus relaciones zoogeograficas, con comentarios acerca de su origen y evolucion. En: Lozano-Vilano, M. L. (Ed.). Libro Jubilar en Honor al Dr. Salvador Contreras Balderas., Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León:153-170.
  • Compagno, L.J.V., 1999., Checklist of living elasmobranchs. In Hamlett W.C. (ed.) Sharks, skates, and rays: the biology of elasmobranch fishes., The John Hopkins University Press:471-498.
  • Compagno, L.J.V., 1984., Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of sharks species known to date. Part 1. Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Species Catalogue., FAO Fish. Synop. No 125, 4(1):1-249.
  • Eschmeyer , W. N. , Herald , E. S. and Hamman, H., 1983., A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America from the Gulf of Alaska to Baja California. Peterson Field Guide Ser. 28., Houghton Mifflin:336pp.
  • Findley, L.T., Hendrickx, M.E., Brusca, R.C., van der Heiden, A.M., Hastings, P.A., Torre, J., 2003., Diversidad de la Macrofauna Marina del Golfo de California, Mexico., CD-ROM versión 1.0. Projecto de la Macrofauna del Golfo .  Derechos reservados de los autores y Conservación Internacional.
  • Fischer , W. , Krup , F. , Schneider , W. , Sommer , C. , Carpenter , K. E. and Niem, V. H., 1995., Guia FAO para la Identificacion de Especies de para los fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. Volumen II. Vertebrados - Parte 1., FAO2:647-1200.
  • Jimenez-Prado, P., Béarez, P., 2004., Peces marinos del Ecuador continental / Marine fishes of continental Ecuador., SIMBIOE/NAZCA/IFEA tomo 1 y 2.
  • Lopez , M. I. and Bussing, W. A., 1982., Lista provisional de los peces marinos de la Costa Rica., Revista de Biologia Tropical, 30(1):5-26.
  • Love, M.S., Mecklenburg, C.W., Mecklenburg, T.A., Thorsteinson, L.K., 2005., es of the West Coast and Alaska: a checklist of North Pacific and Artic Ocena species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon border., U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, 288pp.
  • Meek , S.E. and Hildebrand, S.F., 1923., The marine fishes of Panama. Part I., Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. Ser. Publ., XV:1-330.
  • Villareal-Cavazos, A., Reyes-Bonilla, H., Bermúdez-Almada, B. and Arizpe-Covarrubias, O., 2000., Los peces del arrecife de Cabo Pulmo, Golfo de California, México: Lista sistemática y aspectos de abundancia y biogeografía., Rev. Biol. Trop., 48:413-424.

Acknowledgements

I thank Ashley MacDonald and John Pickering, University of Georgia, for technical support in building this page.


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Alopias vulpinus, Thresher : fisheries, gamefish
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Alopias vulpinus ( Bonnaterre , 1788 )

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Alopias vulpinus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Pictures | Videos | Google image Image of Alopias vulpinus (Thresher) Alopias vulpinus
Picture by S. Iglesels et al

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

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Lamniformes (Mackerel sharks) > Alopiidae (Thresher sharks)
Etymology: Alopias: From alopex , Greek for fox, referring to the ancient vernacular “fox shark,†from its supposed cunning (ancients believed that when it took a bait, it swallowed the hook until it got to the cord, which it bit off and so escaped). ( See ETYFish ) ;   vulpinus: Latin for fox-like (as for genus). ( See ETYFish ) .
More on author: Bonnaterre .

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

Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243 ); depth range 0 - 650 m (Ref. 106604 ), usually 0 - 200 m (Ref. 55168 ). Subtropical; 74°N - 58°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 54279 )

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

Cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical seas (Ref. 6871 , 58085 ). 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.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L m 351.0 , range 226 - 400 cm
Max length : 573 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 106604 ); 549.0 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 )

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines : 0; Anal soft rays : 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 ).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

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 ).

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

Ovoviviparous, embryos feed solely on the ova produced by the mother after the yolk sac is absorbed (oophagy) (Ref. 50449 ), 2 to 4 young in a litter (usually 2) (Ref. 247 ). Size at birth 114-150 cm (Ref. 247 ). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205 ).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | 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 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/1):1-249. Rome, FAO. (Ref. 247 )

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435 )

  Vulnerable (VU)  (A2bd); Date assessed: 06 November 2018

CITES

Appendix II: International trade monitored

CMS (Ref. 116361 )

Appendix II: Migratory species conserved through agreements

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 247 )





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes FAO - Fisheries: landings , species profile ; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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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 | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings , species profile ; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome , nucleotide | GloBI | GoMexSI (interaction data) | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | RFE Identification | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go , Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201 ): 11.6 - 28.2, mean 23.3 °C (based on 8352 cells). Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804 ):  PD 50 = 0.7500   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high]. Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00851 (0.00363 - 0.01997), b=2.86 (2.66 - 3.06), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245 ). Trophic level (Ref. 69278 ):  4.5   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies. Generation time: 11.0 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies. Resilience (Ref. 120179 ):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.1; tm=5-7; tmax=19; Fec=2-4). Prior r = 0.16, 95% CL = 0.09 - 0.34, Based on 2 stock assessments. Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153 ):  Very high vulnerability (77 of 100). Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649 ):  High vulnerability (62 of 100). Price category (Ref. 80766 ):   High . Nutrients (Ref. 124155 ):  Calcium = 6.93 [1.98, 35.15] mg/100g; Iron = 0.726 [0.178, 2.143] mg/100g; Protein = 20.7 [18.3, 23.1] %; Omega3 = 0.379 [0.152, 0.923] g/100g; Selenium = 37.8 [10.7, 110.5] μg/100g; VitaminA = 4.78 [1.56, 14.81] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.28 [0.14, 0.52] mg/100g (wet weight);

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