Sharks Codexery

Night shark

A deepwater requiem shark that migrates vertically and is prized for its fins.

Last updated

Night shark

SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC · via Wikipedia: Night shark · Public domain

The night shark is a slender, deepwater shark that lives in the Atlantic Ocean.[1][2] People call it the "night shark" because fishers usually catch it after dark.[3] This shark is quick and lively, and it hunts small fish like mullet, mackerel, and flyingfish.[4] It also sometimes eats squid and shrimp.[4]

The shark does most of its hunting at night, with the most activity happening right around dawn and dusk.[4]

Scientific classification

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

Named by (Poey, 1868)

Close relatives

Other species of Carcharhinus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Night shark (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 105798 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Endangered (EN)

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN▲ this species
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2021

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

How big is it?

Size comparison: Night shark and a personA 2 m long night shark drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.2 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 2 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the night shark has been recorded

Where the night shark has been recorded79 mapped locations from 738 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (738 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 40 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Description

Its eyes are big, round, and green when it's alive, and it has a special clear eyelid called a nictitating membrane that protects them.[5] The upper teeth can be either smooth or have tiny serrations along the edge, while the lower teeth stand straight up and are smooth-edged.[6] The shark's back is a grayish blue or brown color, its belly is whitish, and its fins don't have any special markings.[7]

Biology and ecology

Like other sharks in its family, the night shark gives birth to live young that develop inside the mother.[8] Females give birth to four to 18 pups after a year-long gestation period.[9] Baby night sharks are born measuring between 50 and 72 centimeters long, and they grow quickly during their first year.[9] Males mature at about 1.8 to 1.9 m, and females at 2.0 to 2.1 m.[10]

Potential predators include larger sharks, and known parasites include copepods and tapeworms.[4] The oldest night sharks scientists have found were 17 years old, and based on growth patterns, males might live up to 28 years and females up to 30 years.[10]

Distribution and habitat

The night shark lives near the edges of continental shelves and the upper slopes of the Atlantic Ocean.[2] Its range extends from Massachusetts to Argentina in the west, and from Senegal to northern Namibia in the east.[2]

Human interactions

In U.S. waters, a 2003–2008 assessment found the population has stabilized and may be increasing.[11] Since the night shark lives in deep water, there's no record of it ever being a danger to people.[12] In places like Brazil and other areas, there aren't really any rules managing how many of these sharks are caught.[13]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

A Cuban zoologist named Felipe Poey first described the night shark back in 1868.[1] Nobody has ever picked a single specimen to be the official "type" for this species.[3]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 499–500; Raschi, W., "Hypoprion bigelowi, a Synonym of Carcharhinus signatus (Pisces: Carcharhinidae), with a Description of Ontogenetic Heterodonty in This Species and Notes on Its Natural History", Copeia, February 23, 1982, p. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carlson, J., "The Status of the United States Population of Night Shark, Carcharhinus signatus", Marine Fisheries Review, 2008, p. 1–13; ; Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 499–500 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 499–500; Barzan, K. Biological Profiles: Night Shark. Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on September 14, 2009. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 499–500; Raschi, W., "Hypoprion bigelowi, a Synonym of Carcharhinus signatus (Pisces: Carcharhinidae), with a Description of Ontogenetic Heterodonty in This Species and Notes on Its Natural History", Copeia, February 23, 1982, p.; Carlson, J., Charvet, P., Blanco-Parra, MP, Briones Bell-lloch, A., Cardenosa, D., Crysler, Z., Espinoza, E., Herman, K., Morales-Saldaña, J.M., Naranjo en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 499–500; "Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes", University of Texas Press, 1998, p. 86 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barzan, K. Biological Profiles: Night Shark. Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on September 14, 2009.; Raschi, W., "Hypoprion bigelowi, a Synonym of Carcharhinus signatus (Pisces: Carcharhinidae), with a Description of Ontogenetic Heterodonty in This Species and Notes on Its Natural History", Copeia, February 23, 1982, p.; Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 499–500; "Fishes of the en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 499–500; "Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes", University of Texas Press, 1998, p. 86; Barzan, K. Biological Profiles: Night Shark. Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on September 14, 2009.; Raschi, W., "Hypoprion bigelowi, a Synonym of Carcharhinus signatus (Pisces: Carcharhinidae), with a Description of Ontogenetic He en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hazin, F.H., "Maturation of the night shark, Carcharhinus signatus, in the south-western equatorial Atlantic Ocean", Bulletin of Marine Science, 2000, p. 173–185 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World", Princeton University Press, 2005, p. 306; Hazin, F.H., "Maturation of the night shark, Carcharhinus signatus, in the south-western equatorial Atlantic Ocean", Bulletin of Marine Science, 2000, p. 173–185; Carlson, J., Charvet, P., Blanco-Parra, MP, Briones Bell-lloch, A., Cardenosa, D., Crysler, Z., Espinoza, E., Herman, K., Morales-Saldaña, J.M., Naranjo-Elizondo, B., Pacoureau, N., Pérez Jiménez, J.C., Schneider, E.V.C.; Carlson, J., "The Status of the United States Population of Night Shark, en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Age determination and growth of the night shark (Carcharhinus signatus) off the northeastern Brazilian coast", Fishery Bulletin, January 2004, p. 156–167; Carlson, J., "The Status of the United States Population of Night Shark, Carcharhinus signatus", Marine Fisheries Review, 2008, p. 1–13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cortes, E., "Relative abundance of pelagic sharks in the western North Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea", Gulf and Caribbean Research, August 2007, p. 37–52 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barzan, K. Biological Profiles: Night Shark. Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on September 14, 2009.; Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 499–500 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Night shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carlson, J., Charvet, P., Blanco-Parra, MP, Briones Bell-lloch, A., Cardenosa, D., Crysler, Z., Espinoza, E., Herman, K., Morales-Saldaña, J.M., Naranjo-Elizondo, B., Pacoureau, N., Pérez Jiménez, J.C., Schneider, E.V.C. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Night 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

Named in this entry

Florida

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Test yourself

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

1. What is the scientific name of the night shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinus signatus.

From the source: “The night shark (Carcharhinus signatus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found in the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean.”

2. In what year was the night shark first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1868.

From the source: “The first scientific description of the night shark was published by Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey in 1868, as part of a series of papers entitled Repertorio fisico-natural de la isla de Cuba.”

3. To which genus does the night shark belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinus.

From the source: “The night shark (Carcharhinus signatus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found in the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean.”

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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