Paragaleus leucolomatus, Whitetip weasel shark

Paragaleus leucolomatus Compagno & Smale, 1985

Whitetip weasel shark
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drawing shows typical species in Hemigaleidae.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Hemigaleidae (Weasel sharks)
Etymology: Paragaleus: para (Gr.), near, referring to how its dentition is intermediate between Hemigaleus and the triakid Eugaleus (=Galeorhinus) (See ETYFish); leucolomatus: leuco-, from leukos (Gr.), white; lomatos (Gr.), border, referring to prominent white tips and margins of most fins (See ETYFish).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range 1 - 20 m (Ref. 5578). Subtropical; 26°S - 27°S

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Indian Ocean: known only from one specimen caught off Kosi Bay, South Africa.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 96.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5485)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. A slender weasel shark with a long snout, large eyes, and a moderately long mouth with small serrated upper teeth and erect-cusped lower teeth (Ref. 5578). Dark grey dorsally, white ventrally; prominent white tips on most fins except for 2nd dorsal which is black-tipped (Ref. 5578).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in shallow coastal waters (Ref. 5578). Viviparous (Ref. 50449).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Viviparous with 1 fetus in each uterus (Ref. 5485). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Bass, A.J., P.C. Heemstra and L.J.V. Compagno, 1986. Carcharhinidae. p. 67-87. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 5485)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2d); Date assessed: 01 August 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Territories
FAO areas
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Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
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Human related
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Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
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Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
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References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index
(Ref. 82804) 		PD50 = 0.5664 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.00309 (0.00129 - 0.00738), b=3.07 (2.86 - 3.28), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level
(Ref. 69278) 		4.2   ±0.6 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience
(Ref. 120179) 		Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=2).
Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 59153) 		Moderate to high vulnerability (49 of 100). 🛈