Sicklefin weasel shark

Taxobox
name = Sicklefin weasel shark
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Chondrichthyes
subclassis = Elasmobranchii
superordo = Selachimorpha
ordo = Carcharhiniformes
familia = Hemigaleidae
genus = "Hemigaleus"
species = "H. microstoma"
binomial = "Hemigaleus microstoma"
binomial_authority = Bleeker, 1852

The sicklefin weasel shark, "Hemigaleus microstoma", is a weasel shark of the family Hemigaleidae, found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Oceans including southern India, Sri Lanka, and China to Indonesia, between latitudes 28° N and 30° S. Its length is up to 1.1 m.

The sicklefin weasel shark is a small, relatively common inshore and offshore shark of tropical continental seas, feeding mainly on cephalopods, particularly octopuses, but also crustaceans. It is taken regularly in inshore artisanal fisheries and utilized for human consumption, the offal being used for fishmeal.

Coloration is grey-brown above, lighter below, dorsal fins with white tips and posterior margins, sometimes with spots on sides of the body. Australian specimens have dark-tipped fins, but specimens from Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand have light-tipped fins.

Reproduction is viviparous.

References

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