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Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Hemigaleidae (Weasel sharks)
Etymology: Hemipristis: Greek, hemi = half + Greek, pristis = saw (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range 1 - 130 m (Ref. 6871). Tropical, preferred ?; 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 Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 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 Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | 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. 115185)

Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd+3bd)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Traumatogenic (Ref. 5213)

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial

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Hemipristis elongata (Klunzinger, 1871)