Spotted tooth shark
| Spotted tooth shark | ||||||||||||
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Spotted sharks |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Carcharhinus sorrah | ||||||||||||
| ( Müller & Henle , 1839) |
The spotted tooth shark or sorrah shark ( Carcharhinus sorrah ) is a species of the genus Carcharhinus within the Requiem sharks (Carcharhinidae). The distribution area is in the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean and in the Indo-Pacific.
Appearance and characteristics
The spotted tooth shark is a medium-sized shark with an average size of 120 to 140 cm and maximum lengths of up to 160 cm. His back is gray and his belly is white. On the tips of the lower caudal fin lobe, the pectoral fins and the second dorsal fin the kind has black spots, the first dorsal fin can be lined with dark gray. The shark has a light band on its flanks.
The shark has a long, pointed snout and large, round eyes. It has an anal fin and two dorsal fins . The first dorsal fin is comparatively high and pointed like a sickle, it lies above or slightly behind the beginning of the free end of the pectoral fins. There is a poorly developed interdorsal ridge . The second dorsal fin is comparatively small and begins slightly behind the attachment of the anal fin. The pectoral fins are relatively large and sickle-shaped. Like all species of the genus, the animals have five gill slits and no injection hole .
Way of life
The spotted tooth shark lives as a common species near the coast in the area of the continental shelf and on island bases from the surface to depths of around 70 m. He prefers reef regions. It feeds predatory on various bony fish and invertebrates, especially squid .
Reproduction
Like other species of the genus, it is viviparous and forms a yolk sac placenta ( placental viviparous ). The females give birth to three to six young animals. The young sharks have a size of about 45 to 60 centimeters and are born near the coast. The very slowly growing animals reach sexual maturity at a length of about 100 to 110 cm.
distribution
The distribution area of the spotted shark extends in the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific from the west coast of Africa from South Africa via Mozambique , Tanzania , Kenya and Madagascar to the Red Sea , the coast of Pakistan and India to Southeast Asia and western and northern Australia .
Danger
Spotted tooth sharks are targeted for their meat and fins. Their fins fetch a high price in markets and are therefore in great demand. They are also fished as by-catch . They are usually caught by longlines , gill nets and trawls . In addition, their habitats are deteriorating increasingly. Their schools are extremely important for the sharks , in which their young grow up. They are mostly found in shallow coastal waters. However, these regions are heavily fished and thereby increasingly impaired and polluted, especially near estuaries. No special measures are taken to protect the animals. Due to the high fishing pressure in most of its range and the observation of global populations, the spotted tooth shark is classified as potentially endangered according to the IUCN .
literature
- Leonard Compagno , Marc Dando, Sarah Fowler: Sharks of the World . Princeton University Press , Princeton and Oxford 2005, ISBN 978-0-691-12072-0 , pp. 306-307.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Carcharhinus sorrah in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Pillans, R., Stevens, JD & White, WT, July 09 of 2007.
Web links
- Species portrait on hai.ch
- Spotted tooth shark on Fishbase.org (English)
- Carcharhinus sorrah inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Pillans, R., Stevens, JD & White, WT, 2007. Retrieved December 4, 2013.