Winghead shark

Taxobox
name = Winghead shark
status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = unknown
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Chondrichthyes
subclassis = Elasmobranchii
ordo = Carcharhiniformes
familia = Sphyrnidae
genus = "Eusphyra"
genus_authority = Gill, 1862
species = "E. blochii"
binomial = "Eusphyra blochii"
binomial_authority = (Cuvier, 1816)
range_

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range_map_width = 250px
range_map_caption = Range of winghead shark

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The winghead shark, "Eusphyra blochii", is a species of oceanic shark, so named because it has a wing-shaped head. This shark is a member of the family Sphyrnidae. The only other genus of Sphyrnidae is "Sphyrna", which includes the hammerhead sharks.

The winghead shark is found in shallow water on continental and insular shelves of the Indo-West Pacific oceans, from the Persian Gulf to the Philippines, north to China, and south to Australia. It also enters estuaries. It has a remarkable wing-shaped head which is about half of its body length, the function of which is uncertain, maybe for maneuvering or for increasing the surface area of some of the sense organs. This head has a series of small bumps along the edges in front of the nostrils. The nostrils are enormously expanded, each nearly 2 times the mouth width. It feeds mainly on small teleost fishes but also takes crustaceans and cephalopods. It is probably harmless to people, and probably a common fisheries species where it occurs. The meat is utilized for human consumption, the liver is a source of vitamin oil. The offal is probably utilized for fishmeal. Coloration is grey or grey-brown above, paler below.

Reproduction is viviparous, with 6 to 25 pups in a litter.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is near threatened
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