Pacific Sharpnose Shark
| Pacific Sharpnose Shark | ||||||||||||
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Pacific Sharpnose Shark ( Rhizoprionodon longurio ) |
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| Rhizoprionodon longurio | ||||||||||||
| ( Jordan & Gilbert , 1882) |
The Pacific Sharp-nosed Shark ( Rhizoprionodon longurio ) is a species of the Sharp-nosed Sharks ( Rhizoprionodon ) within the Requiem Sharks (Carcharhinidae). The species is common in the tropical waters of the American Pacific coast from California to Peru.
Appearance and characteristics
The Pacific Sharpnose Shark is a medium-sized shark with an average body length of around 50 to 100 cm and a maximum length of over 154 centimeters. He has a dark gray to gray-brown body color and a lighter belly region without pattern. The tips of the pectoral fins are light-colored, the dorsal fin has a gray tip. The muzzle is long and the mouth is broadly parabolic when viewed from below, the eyes are large and are located relatively high up on the head. The nostrils are narrow and elongated, and the species also has long labial folds.
It has an anal fin and two dorsal fins . The first dorsal fin is significantly larger than the second and lies slightly in front of or over the free ends of the pectoral fins, while the second arises approximately above the anal fin. The anal fin is about the same size as the second dorsal fin. The caudal fin has a relatively short lower and long upper lobe with a distinct end lobe. Like all species of the genus, the animals have five gill slits and no injection hole , the 4th and 5th gill slits are above the pectoral fin attachment.
Way of life
The Pacific Sharpnose Shark is a shallow-water species and little information is available about its way of life. It predatory feeds mainly on various fish , crustaceans , snails and octopuses . The sharks are probably viviparous like the related species and form a yolk sac placenta ( placental viviparous ). The young are born with a length of about 33 cm, with a body length of about 60 to 70 cm, the animals are sexually mature.
distribution
The Pacific Sharpnose Shark is the only species in the eastern Pacific and lives on the American coast from California to Peru. Its habitat is in the area of the continental shelf in water depths down to the bottom at a depth of 0 to at least 23 meters.
literature
- Leonard Compagno , Marc Dando, Sarah Fowler: Sharks of the World. Princeton Field Guides, Princeton University Press , Princeton and Oxford 2005; Pp. 318-319, ISBN 978-0-691-12072-0 .
Web links
- Pacific sharpnose on Fishbase.org (English)
- Rhizoprionodon longurio inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Listed by: Smith, WD, Márquez-Farias, JF & Pérez-Jiménez, JC, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2013.