Sharks Codexery

Creek whaler

A small, stocky requiem shark endemic to northern Australia.

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Creek whaler

CSIRO National Fish Collection · via Wikipedia: Creek whaler · CC BY 3.0

The creek whaler (Carcharhinus fitzroyensis) is a requiem shark found only in northern Australia. It lives in shallow coastal waters and estuaries. This small, sturdy shark typically reaches 1.0–1.3 meters (3.3–4.3 ft) in length, has a brownish color without noticeable fin markings, and can be recognized by its long snout, large triangular pectoral fins, and a large first dorsal fin positioned toward the front of its body.

Its diet consists mainly of small bony fish and crustaceans. The species is viviparous, with embryos nourished through a placental connection.

Mating occurs from May to July, and after a gestation period of seven to nine months, females give birth to one to seven pups each year. A small number of creek whalers are caught accidentally in inshore gillnets and used for food, but fishing appears to have little impact on their population. Consequently, the IUCN lists this species as Least Concern.

Scientific classification

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

Named by (Whitley, 1943)

Close relatives

Other species of Carcharhinus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Creek whaler (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 271321 (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: Creek whaler and a personA 1.5 m long creek whaler drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.1.5 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 1.5 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Creek whaler

Where the creek whaler has been recorded

Where the creek whaler has been recorded10 mapped locations from 7,836 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Fitzroy River (Queensland)Fitzroy River (Queensland)

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (7,836 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 2 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)

Lore & Background

The creek whaler was described by Australian ichthyologist Gilbert Percy Whitley in a 1943 volume of Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. He assigned the new species to the subgenus Uranganops of the genus Galeolamna, and gave it the specific epithet fitzroyensis because the type specimen, a 1.2-m-long female, was collected from Connor's Creek in the Fitzroy River estuary. Subsequent authors have synonymized Galeolamna with Carcharhinus. The evolutionary relationships of the creek whaler have yet to be fully resolved; various studies have placed it near the whitecheek shark and blackspot shark, or close to the nervous shark and blacktip reef shark, or as the basal member of a clade containing the graceful shark, blacktip shark, and Australian blacktip shark.

Did You Know?

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 sharksCookiecutter shark · Dogfish sharks and relativesGreat 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. Who first scientifically described the creek whaler?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Gilbert Percy Whitley.

From the source: “The creek whaler was described by Australian ichthyologist Gilbert Percy Whitley in a 1943 volume of Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales.”

2. To which biological family does the creek whaler belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinidae.

From the source: “The creek whaler (Carcharhinus fitzroyensis) is a common species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, endemic to northern Australia.”

3. What is the scientific name of the creek whaler?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinus fitzroyensis.

From the source: “The creek whaler (Carcharhinus fitzroyensis) is a common species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, endemic to northern Australia.”

More questions on TriviaCafe

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.

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