Sharks Codexery

Spot-tail shark

A near-threatened requiem shark with black-tipped fins.

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Spot-tail shark

Müller & Henle · via Wikipedia: Spot-tail shark · Public domain

This shark has a spindle-shaped body that reaches about 1.6 meters in length.[1] This shark has a long, pointy nose and eyes that are a bit bigger than average.[1] A raised line runs along the back between the two top fins, and there's a small dip just ahead of the upper tail fin.[1] The teeth in the upper jaw are triangular, slanted, and have serrated edges.[1]

Dark tips show up on the second top fin, the side fins, and the bottom part of the tail fin.[1]

Scientific classification

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

Named by (J. P. Müller & Henle, 1839)

Close relatives

Other species of Carcharhinus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Spot-tail shark (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 217339 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Near Threatened (NT)

  1. LC
  2. NT▲ this species
  3. VU
  4. EN
  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: Spot-tail shark and a personA 1.6 m long spot-tail shark drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.1.6 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 1.6 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the spot-tail shark has been recorded

Where the spot-tail shark has been recorded140 mapped locations from 9,294 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (9,294 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 62 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 1 isolated far-off record not drawn.

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

Biology and ecology

They grow quickly in their first year, adding about 20 centimeters in length, but growth slows after that.[2] Females have one litter each year, with anywhere from one to eight babies born alive.[2] The pregnancy lasts ten months, and newborn pups are about 50 centimeters long.[2] Young sharks grow up in shallow waters close to shore.[2]

Females are ready to have babies when they're two to three years old, and they can live up to seven years; males top out at five years.[3]

Distribution and habitat

It lives on continental and island shelves, usually down to about 73 meters deep, and maybe as deep as 140 meters.[4]

Human interactions

Small-scale fishing operations catch this shark on lines and in gillnets across much of its range.[5] Fisheries in northern Australia are doing a pretty good job of keeping things under control.[2]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The spot-tail shark belongs to the family Carcharhinidae, the order Carcharhiniformes, and the class Elasmobranchii.[6][7]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Spot-tail shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Daley, "Field Guide to Australian Sharks and Rays", Csiro Publishing, 2002, p. 34; Compagno, L.J.V., "Spot-tail shark (Carcharhinus sorrah)", Sharks of the World (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Spot-tail shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carcharhinus sorrah", 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Spot-tail shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Age and growth of two commercially imported sharks (Carcharhinus tilstoni and C. sorrah) from Northern Australia", Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1988, p. 417–433 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Spot-tail shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carcharhinus sorrah (Müller & Henle, 1839)", FishBase; Compagno, L.J.V., "Spot-tail shark (Carcharhinus sorrah)", Sharks of the World (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Spot-tail shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carcharhinus sorrah (Müller & Henle, 1839)", FishBase (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. World Register of Marine Species, Carcharhinus sorrah (AphiaID 217339). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  7. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Carcharhinus sorrah (taxon key 2418184). 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 Spot-tail 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

Tamil language

More in Reef sharks

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

Elsewhere in Sharks

Whale shark · Carpet sharksWobbegong · Carpet sharksGreenland shark · Dogfish sharks and relativesSawshark · Dogfish sharks and relativesHammerhead shark · Hammerhead sharksMegalodon · Mackerel sharks

Test yourself

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

1. What is the scientific name of the spot-tail shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinus sorrah.

From the source: “The spot-tail shark, or sorrah shark (Carcharhinus sorrah), is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean between latitudes 31°N and 31°S from the surface to a depth around 72 m.”

2. What is the IUCN Red List category of the spot-tail shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Near Threatened.

From the source: “It is fished commercially over much of its range and the IUCN considers it to be near threatened.”

3. To which genus does the spot-tail shark belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinus.

From the source: “The spot-tail shark, or sorrah shark (Carcharhinus sorrah), is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean between latitudes 31°N and 31°S from the surface to a depth around 72 m.”

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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