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1st dorsal fin broad, high, pointed, origin over pectoral insertion
pectoral: broad, pointed
Heavy-bodied; snout short and broadly rounded; eye small; no ridge on back between dorsal fins; origin of first dorsal fin usually over or just posterior to pectoral axil; first dorsal fin moderately large, its height 7.0-11.3% of total length; apex of first dorsal fairly pointed; origin of second dorsal distinctly in front of anal origin; pectoral wide, pointed.
Grey, becoming white ventrally, often with faint pale grey horizontal band extending into the white of the upper abdomen; fins of small individuals with dusky tips or edges, adults plain.
May reach 350 cm; size at birth 56-81cm.
Habitat: continental coasts, estuarine, muddy areas, lagoons, often travels far up rivers.
Depth: 0-150 m.
All tropical and subtropical seas; southern California to the Gulf and to Peru, Malpelo and the Revillagigedos.
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: 150 m. Depth Range Min: 0 m. Diet: bony fishes; mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs); octopus/squid/cuttlefish; sharks/rays; sea snakes/mammals/turtles/birds; mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves. Eastern Pacific Range: Northern limit=33; Southern limit=-9; Western limit=-118; Eastern limit=-78; Latitudinal range=42; Longitudinal range=40. Egg Type: Live birth; No pelagic larva. Feeding Group: Carnivore. FishBase Habitat: Demersal. 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: Corals; Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom); Mangrove; Water column; Reef (rock &/or coral); Rocks; Reef and soft bottom; Soft bottom (mud, sand,gravel, beach, estuary & mangrove); Mud; Sand & gravel; Beach; Estuary; Freshwater. Inshore Offshore: Inshore; Inshore Only. IUCN Red List: Near threatened; Listed. Length Max: 350 cm. Regional Endemism: Island (s); Continent; Continent + Island (s); Eastern Pacific non-endemic; Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic; All species. Residency: Resident. Salinity: Brackish; Freshwater; Marine. Water Column Position: Mid Water; Near Bottom; Near Surface; Surface; Bottom + water column;
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.
Béarez, P., 1996., Lista de los Peces Marinos del Ecuador Continental., Revista de Biologia Tropical, 44:731-741.
Candanedo , C. and D'Croz, L., 1983., Ecosistema acuático del lago Bayano: un embalse tropical., Publicación Técnica IRHE, Dirección de Ingenieria, Departamento de Hidrometeorología, Panamá., :38pp.
Castri-Aguirre, J.L., Espinoza-Pérez, H. and Schmitter-Soto, J.J., 2002., Lista sitemática, biogeográfica y ecológica de la ictiofauna estuarino lagunar y vicaria de México. En: Lozano-Vilano, M. L. (Ed.). Libro Jubilar en Honor al Dr. Salvador Contreras Balderas., Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León:117-142.
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.
Castro-Aguirre, J.L., 1999., Ictiofauna estuarino-lagunar y vicaria de México., Editorial Limusa S.A. de C.V.: 1-629pp.
Compagno , L. J. V. and Cook, S. F., 1995., The exploitation and conservation of freshwater elasmobranchs: status of taxa and prospects for the future., Journal of Aquariculture and Aquatic Sciences, 7:62-90.
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 shark species known to date. Part 2. Carcharhiniformes. FAO Species Catalogue., FAO Fish. Synop. No 125, 4(2):251-655.
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.
Galván-Magaña, F., Abitia-Cárdenas, L.A., Rodríguez-Romero, J., Pérez-España, H., Chávez-Ramos, H., 1996., Systematics list of the fishes from Cerralvo island, Baja California Sur, Mexico., Ciencias Marinas, 22:295-311.
Galván-Magaña, F., Gutiérrez-Sánchez, F., Abitia-Cárdenas, L.A., Rodríguez-Romero, J., 2000., The distribution and affinities of the shore fishes of the Baja California Sur lagoons. In Aquatic Ecosystems of Mexico: Status and Scope. Eds. M. Manuwar, S.G. Lawrence, I.F. Manuwar & D.F. Malley. Ecovision World Monograph Series., Backhuys Publishers:383-398.
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.
Madrid Vera , J. , Ruíz Luna , A. and Rosado Bravo, I., 1998., Peces de la plataforma continental de Michoacán y sus relaciones regionales en el Pacífico mexicano., Revista de Biologia Tropical, 42(2):267-276.
McCosker , J.E. and Rosenblatt, R.H., 1975., Fishes collected at Malpelo Island. In Graham, J.B. (ed.) The Biological Investigation of Malpelo Island, Colombia., Smithsonian Contrib. Zool., 176:91-93.
Müller , J. and Henle, F. G. J., 1839., Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen. Berlin., Plagiostomen, :27-102.
Ramírez Rodríguez, M., 1997., Producción pesquera en la Bahía de La Paz, B.C.S.. En Urbán Ramírez, J. y M. Ramírez Rodríguez (Eds.). La Bahía de La Paz investigación y conservación., Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur:273-282.
Rubio, E.A., 1986., Notas sobre la ictiofauna de la Isla de Gorgona, Colombia., Boletin Ecotropica. Univ. Bog. Jorge Tadeo Lozano, 13:86-112.
Rubio, E.A., 1988., Estudio taxonomico de la ictiofauna acompañante del camaron en areas costeras del Pacifico de Colombia., Memorias del VI Seminario Nacional de las Ciencias del Mar. Comisión Colombiana de Oceanografía. Bogota, Colombia., :169-183.
Starks, E. C., 1906., On a Collection of fishes made by P. O. Simons in Ecuador and Peru., Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 30:761-800.
Van der Heiden , A. M. and Findley, L. T., 1988., Lista de los peces marinos del sur de Sinaloa, México., Anales del Centro de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia de la Universidad Autonoma Nacional de Mexico, 15:209-224.
Vega, A.J., Villareal, N., 2003., Peces asociados a arrecifes y manglares en el Parque Nacional Coiba., Tecnociencia, 5:65-76.
Holotype AM IB.508 (figured in Whitley, G.P. 1940.
The Fishes of Australia.
Part 1. The sharks, rays, devil-fish, and other primitive fishes of Australia and New Zealand
. Sydney : Roy. Zool. Soc. N.S.W. 280 pp. 303 figs. [273 fig. 303, as
Galeolamna greyi
]), Swan River, WA.
In 2005
Carcharhinus leucas
was placed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened.
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Perth, WA to Sydney, NSW, often ascends rivers into freshwater, but freshwater localities are not well documented in Australia; tropical, circumglobal.
IBRA
NSW, NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Dampierland (DL), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), Pine Creek (PCK), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT)
IMCRA
Northern Shelf Province (25), Northwest Shelf Transition (26), Northwest Shelf Province (27), Central Western Shelf Transition (28), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)
Cosmopolitan in tropical and subtropical waters (Ref.
81283
): widespread in warm oceans, rivers and lakes (Ref.
4716
). Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA to Argentina (Ref.
58839
); eastern Atlantic: Morocco, Senegal to Angola (Ref.
81283
,
81623
); Indo-Pacific: Kenya and South Africa to India, then, Viet Nam to Australia; southern Baja California, Mexico to Ecuador and possibly occurring in Peru. Africa: in freshwater found in rivers of West Africa from Gambia River to Ogowe River (Ref.
81283
) and in the Cuanza in Angola (Ref.
120641
). Sympatric with
Carcharhinus amboinensis
,
Glyphis gangeticus
.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: L
m
193.0
, range 180 - 230 cm
Max length : 360 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref.
85726
); 400.0 cm TL (female); common length : 260 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref.
9253
); max. published weight: 316.5 kg (Ref.
40637
); max. reported age: 32 years (Ref.
42004
)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 0;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 0;
Anal
spines
: 0;
Anal
soft rays
: 0. Diagnosis:
Carcharhinus leucas
is a massive shark with a short, broad and blunt snout, small eyes and triangular saw-edged upper teeth, and lack of interdorsal ridge, characters which are sufficient to distinguish this species (Ref.
26938
).
A coastal and freshwater shark inhabiting shallow waters especially in bays, estuaries, rivers, and lakes (Ref.
244
). It readily penetrates far up rivers and hypersaline bays and littoral lagoons (Ref.
9997
,
44894
,
81283
). Capable of covering great distances (up to 180 kilometers in 24 hours), moving between fresh and brackish water at random (Ref.
44894
). Adults often found near estuaries and freshwater inflows to the sea; young enter rivers and may be found hundreds of km from the sea (Ref.
4967
,
44894
,
58304
). Feeds on bony fishes, other sharks, rays, mantis shrimps, crabs, squid, sea snails, sea urchins, mammalian carrion, sea turtles, and occasionally garbage (Ref.
244
,
5578
,
44894
). Viviparous (Ref.
50449
). Gives birth to litters of up to 13 young (Ref.
26938
,
44894
). Size at birth is 56-81 cm TL (Ref.
81623
). Sexual maturity is attained after 10-15 years (at a length between 160-200 centimeters) (Ref.
44894
). Though not commercially important, this species is a good food fish (Ref.
12484
). Utilized fresh, fresh-frozen or smoked for human consumption, fins for soup, hide for leather, liver for oil, and carcass for fishmeal (Ref.
244
). Very hardy and lives well in captivity (Ref.
244
). This large shark is potentially dangerous to man (Ref.
81283
), probably the most dangerous species of tropical shark (Ref.
244
), and it is repeatedly implicated in attacks on humans (Ref.
4967
,
44894
); attacks in fresh water are rare (Ref.
44894
