Chaenogaleus macrostoma (Bleeker, 1852)
Hooktooth shark
Chaenogaleus macrostoma
photo by Iranian Fisheries Research Organization (IFRO)

Family:  Hemigaleidae (Weasel sharks)
Max. size:  100 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; marine; depth range - 59 m
Distribution:  Indo-West Pacific: Persian Gulf (Ref. 13567), Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, China, Taiwan, Java and Sulawesi in Indonesia. This name has been used indiscriminately for the three species of hemigaleids in Indo-Pakistani waters other than Hemipristis elongatus.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0-0; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 0-0. Bronzy-grey above, white below when fresh, fading to greyish or greyish brown in preservation, dorsal fins often with dusky or black tips (Ref. 13567).
Biology:  A common inshore and offshore shark found on the continental and insular shelves (Ref. 13567). Probably feeds on small fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans (Ref. 244). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Caught irregularly by inshore gillnet fisheries and occasionally by small-scale longlining (Ref.58048). Probably taken by artisanal fisheries wherever it occurs (Ref. 13567). Utilized fresh for human consumption and by-products processed into fishmeal (Ref. 244).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 12 May 2020 (A2d) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:   
 


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