Fossil shark
| Fossil shark | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fossil Shark ( Hemipristis elongata ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Hemipristis | ||||||||||||
| Agassiz , 1843 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Hemipristis elongata | ||||||||||||
| ( Klunzinger , 1871) |
The fossil shark ( Hemipristis elongata ) is the only species of the monotypic genus Hemipristis within the weasel sharks (Hemigaleidae). The distribution area extends over large coastal areas of the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific .
Appearance and characteristics
The fossil shark is a medium-sized shark with a maximum length of 230 to 240 cm. It has a light gray to bronze colored back without any noticeable markings and a white belly.
The shark has a rounded snout and large, round eyes with nodding skins . It has an anal fin and two dorsal fins . The first dorsal fin is larger than the second, it begins slightly before the anal fin is attached. The shark has five gill slits and a very small injection hole (spiraculum).
Way of life
The fossil shark lives as a common species near the coast in the area of the continental shelf and on island bases from the shore zone to depths of about 130 m. It feeds predatory on various bony fish and cephalopods .
It is viviparous and forms a yolk sac placenta ( placental viviparous ). The females give birth to two to eleven young animals after a gestation period of 7 to 8 months. The juvenile sharks are around 45 centimeters in size and are born near the coast. The slowly growing animals reach sexual maturity after three to four years at a length of about 110 to 120 cm.
distribution
The distribution area of the fossil shark extends in the Indian Ocean and 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 from there south to western and northern Australia and north along the east coast of China .
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. 285-286.
Web links
- Species portrait on hai.ch
- Fossil shark on Fishbase.org (English)
- Hemipristis elongata inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: White, WT (SSG Australia & Oceania Regional Workshop, March 2003), 2003. Retrieved December 5, 2013.