Sharks Codexery

Australian blackspot shark

A cryptic requiem shark of northern Australian inshore waters.

Last updated

Australian blackspot shark

CSIRO National Fish Collection · via Wikipedia: Australian blackspot shark · CC BY 4.0

Australian blackspot sharks are small requiem sharks that live in the shallow coastal waters off northern Australia and possibly New Guinea.[1] They're part of a group of closely related blackspot sharks that scientists only sorted out as separate species in 2012.[1]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassChondrichthyes
  4. SubclassElasmobranchii
  5. DivisionSelachii
  6. OrderCarcharhiniformes
  7. FamilyCarcharhinidae
  8. GenusCarcharhinus
  9. SpeciesCarcharhinus coatesi

Named by (Whitley, 1939)

Close relatives

Other species of Carcharhinus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Australian blackspot shark (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 1014961 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2019

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Australian blackspot shark and a personA 0.88 m long australian blackspot shark drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.88 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.88 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Australian blackspot shark

Where the australian blackspot shark has been recorded

Where the australian blackspot shark has been recorded141 mapped locations from 2,213 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: New GuineaNew Guinea

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (2,213 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 5 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Description

These small inshore sharks reach a maximum length of 88 cm.[2] At birth, pups measure between 38 and 40 cm.[2] Both sexes mature at about 70 cm.[2] The body is pale brown, fading to gray after death, with an almost white belly—a classic countershading pattern that helps camouflage them from above and below.[3]

Biology and ecology

They are thought to reproduce every year, though the gestation period is unknown because breeding does not seem tied to a particular season.[4]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Its scientific name is Carcharhinus coatesi, and Whitley first described it in 1939.[5][6] It's a member of the family Carcharhinidae—the requiem sharks.[5] Researchers resurrected it as a valid species in 2012, separating it from the whitecheek shark and the blackspot shark.[1]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Australian blackspot shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: White, "A redescription of Carcharhinus dussumieri and C. sealei, with resurrection of C. coatesi and C. tjutjot as valid species (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae)", Zootaxa, 2012-03-21, p. 1–34; Stevens, "Distribution, size and sex composition, reproductive biology and diet of sharks from Northern Australia", Marine and Freshwater Research, 1991, p. 151–199 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Australian blackspot shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stevens, "Distribution, size and sex composition, reproductive biology and diet of sharks from Northern Australia", Marine and Freshwater Research, 1991, p. 151–199 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Australian blackspot shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: White, "Sharks and Rays of Papua New Guinea", Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Australian blackspot shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: White, "Sharks and Rays of Papua New Guinea", Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, 2018; Stevens, "Distribution, size and sex composition, reproductive biology and diet of sharks from Northern Australia", Marine and Freshwater Research, 1991, p. 151–199; White, "Sharks and Rays of Papua New Guinea", Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. World Register of Marine Species, Carcharhinus coatesi (AphiaID 1014961). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  6. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Carcharhinus coatesi (taxon key 7466803). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Australian blackspot shark (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Carcharhinidae)

Atlantic sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovaeBorneo broadfin shark Lamiopsis tephrodesBrazilian sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon lalandiiBroadfin shark Lamiopsis temminckiiGanges shark Glyphis gangeticus

More in Reef sharks

Requiem sharkAbdouniaBlue sharkRiver sharkWhitetip reef sharkCarcharhinusAustralian blacktip sharkBignose sharkBlacknose sharkBlackspot sharkBlacktip reef sharkBlacktip shark

Elsewhere in Sharks

Nurse shark · Carpet sharksZebra shark · Carpet sharksGreat hammerhead · Hammerhead sharksShortfin mako · Mackerel sharksGoblin shark · Mackerel sharksThresher shark · Mackerel sharks

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. To which biological family does the Australian blackspot shark belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinidae.

From the source: “It belongs to a species complex of blackspot sharks in the family Carcharhinidae.”

2. To which genus does the Australian blackspot shark belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinus.

From the source: “The Australian blackspot shark or Coates's shark (Carcharhinus coatesi) is a species of requiem shark found off northern Australia (from Shark Bay in Western Australia to K'gari in Queensland) and possibly also off the coast of New Guinea.”

3. What is the IUCN Red List category of the Australian blackspot shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Least Concern.

From the source: “The IUCN considers this species to be of least concern as of July 23, 2018.”

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →