Australia country information

Common names: Fossil shark, Snaggletooth shark
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: minor commercial | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Occurs in northern Australia, from Bunbury in Western Australia (rarely south to Shark Bay) to Lizard Island in Queensland (Ref. 6871). Minor component of the northern Australian gillnet fishery (Ref. 6871). Also Ref. 244, 7300, 13567.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.csiro.au/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Last, P.R. and J.D. Stevens, 1994
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Elliot's grey shark, Fossil shark, 钝吻鲨, ... more

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: Hemipristis: hemi-, from hemisys (Gr.), half; pristis, from pristes (Gr.), sawyer (but here meaning saw), allusion not explained, possibly referring to how marginal serrations of teeth of H. serra (type species, a fossil) do not extend over the entire length of each tooth. (See ETYFish); elongata: Latin for prolonged, referring to its long and slim body. (See ETYFish).
More on author: Klunzinger.

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

Marine; demersal; depth range 1 - 130 m (Ref. 6871). Tropical; 41°N - 34°S, 12°E - 156°E (Ref. 6871)

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

Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and southeast Africa, including Persian Gulf (Ref. 68964) to Philippines, north to China, south to Australia.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ?, range 120 - ? cm
Max length : 240 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5578); common length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 13567)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. A slender weasel shark with a long, broadly rounded snout, large curved, saw-edged teeth in the upper jaw, and hooked lower teeth protruding from mouth; gill slits long; fins strongly curved (Ref. 5578). Light grey or bronzy with no prominent markings (Ref. 5578).

A coastal species, found inshore and offshore on the continental and insular shelves (Ref. 244). Feeds on sharks, rays and bony fishes (Ref. 244); also cephalopods (Ref. 13567). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Thought to be potentially dangerous because of its large, fearsome teeth and shallow-water habitat, but has not been recorded in an attack on people (Ref. 244). Caught regularly by inshore gillnet, bottom trawl (occasionally) and longline fisheries (Ref.58048). Regularly taken in artisanal fisheries (Ref. 13567). Utilized fresh for human consumption, liver processed for vitamins, fins used in the oriental shark fin trade, and by-products processed into fishmeal (Ref. 244). Most adults below 200 cm (Ref. 30573).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Viviparous, with 2 to 11 young in a litter (Ref. 6871) after a gestation period of 7-8 months; possibly reproduces in alternate years (Ref.58048). Size at birth about 45-52 cm TL (Ref. 13567, Ref.58048). 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) (A2bd+3bd); Date assessed: 20 February 2015

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Traumatogenic (Ref. 5213)

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial

FAO(Publication : search) | FishSource |

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Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 23.8 - 29, mean 27.9 (based on 2110 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 1.0039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00363 (0.00147 - 0.00899), b=3.07 (2.86 - 3.28), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.3 ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=2).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Hemipristis elongata (Klunzinger, 1871)