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Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks)
Etymology: Rhizoprionodon: Greek, rhiza = root + Greek, prion = saw + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; amphidromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 1 - 200 m (Ref. 244). Tropical, preferred ?; 41°N - 30°S, 27°W - 156°E

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

Eastern Atlantic: Mauritania to Angola; reported from the Gulf of Taranto (Ref. 231). Indo-West Pacific: Persian Gulf (Ref. 68964), Red Sea and East Africa to Indonesia, north to Japan, south to Australia.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ?, range 70 - 80 cm
Max length : 175 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12693); 80.8 cm TL (female); common length : 110 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 47737); max. published weight: 5.0 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 8 years (Ref. 244)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. A small shark with a long, narrow, snout, big eyes without notches, long labial furrows, and oblique-cusped teeth which may be smooth-edged or weakly serrated; 2nd dorsal fin small, low and behind larger anal fin; no interdorsal ridge (Ref. 5578). Grey or grey-brown above, white below (Ref. 5578). Dorsal and anal fins with dusky or blackish edges, fins slightly darker than back (Ref. 9997).

Found on continental shelves, often on sandy beaches and rarely in estuaries (Ref. 244). Reported to enter freshwater and recorded several times from Cambodia as far upstream as the Great Lake (Ref. 12693). Occurs near the surface in shallow waters (Ref. 12693). Feeds mainly on small pelagic and benthic bony fishes, also cephalopods and other invertebrates (Ref. 244). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Utilized fresh and possibly dried salted for human consumption and for fishmeal (Ref. 9997). The 178 cm specimen recorded off Africa is possibly based on some other species (Ref. 9997).

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

Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205). Viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta; 2 to 8 in a litter (Ref. 9997), usually 2 to 5 after a gestation period of ~ 12 months; no seasonality in the reproductive cycle (Ref.58048). Size at birth between 25 and 39 cm.

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 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Least Concern (LC)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless (Ref. 244)

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

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Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837)