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Carcharhinus dussumieri (Valenciennes, 1839)

Whitecheek shark
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Carcharhinus dussumieri   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks)
Etymology: Carcharhinus: karcharos (Gr.), sharp or jagged; rhinus, an ancient name for sharks, from rhine (Gr.), rasp, both words alluding to a shark's jagged, rasp-like skin. (See ETYFish);  dussumieri: In honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant, who collected some of the type material off Bombay (Mumbai) [authorship often attributed to Müller & Henle, who published Valenciennes’ description]. (See ETYFish).

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

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 100 m (Ref. 106604). Tropical; 30°N - 5°N, 49°E - 84°E

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

Indian Ocean: from at least the Persian Gulf to India. Complete distributional range is unknown.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 68.3, range 60 - 75 cm
Max length : 121 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 114871)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Vertebrae: 113 - 129. This small species is distinguished by the following characters: snout relatively long and narrowly rounded to almost pointed; upper anterior teeth are oblique and blade-like, coarsely serrated, with lateral margin deeply notched and with several large and serrated basal cusplets; lower anterior teeth are narrower, slightly oblique, lateral margins notched and usually without large basal serrae, finely serrated; total tooth row counts 27-29/24-30, or 52-59; interdorsal space often without a ridge, 17.9-20.8% TL; first dorsal fin relatively low and not falcate, origin over middle of pectoral-fin inner margin, length 14.3-16.2% TL, 1.4-1.6 times height, inner margin 2.2-2.5 in base; second dorsal fin is much smaller, broadly triangular, height 32-37% of first dorsal-fin height, origin about opposite anal fin origin; anal fin is slightly falcate, height 1.0-1.2 times second dorsal-fin height, base 0.9-1.1 times second dorsal fin base; body colour pale brownish dorsally, whitish ventrally; second dorsal fin with a black blotch on upper third of fin, not extending onto upper surface of body and very well defined from ground colour, while other fins mostly plain; total vertebral counts 123-138; monospondylous precaudal counts 42-48; diplospondylous precaudal counts 20; diplospondylous caudal counts 59-70; precaudal counts 62-68 (Ref. 89954).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A common but little-known shark found on the continental and insular inshore areas (Ref. 9997). Feeds mainly on fishes but also on cephalopods, and crustaceans (Ref. 6871). Viviparous (Ref. 50449), with a yolk-sac placenta; gives birth to litters of 1-4 (usually 2) pups (Ref. 58048). Pregnant females (79-100.7 cm TL) that were caught contained 2-5 late-term embryos between 32-38.7 cm TL, thus birth size is presumed to be around 37-39 cm TL. From more than 1000 market specimens (in Kuwait, Qatar and Abu Dhabi), size of males and females range from 36-85 cm TL and 36-100.7 cm TL, respectively, with males reaching maturity between 63-80 cm TL (Ref. 89954). Taken in artisanal and small-scale commercial fisheries and marketed for human consumption (Ref. 244). Fins also utilized (Ref. 6871).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Viviparous, placental (Ref. 50449). With 2 to 4 pups in a litter; 37-38 cm at birth (Ref. 244). Both male and females mature at about 70 cm (Ref. 6871). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205). No distinct seasonal reproductive cycle apparent, instead continuously breeding with most mature females pregnant or spent at any one time (Ref.58048).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

White, W.T., 2012. A redescription of Carcharhinus dussumieri and C. sealei, with resurrection of C. coatesi and C. tjutjot as valid species (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae). Zootaxa 3241:1-34. (Ref. 89954)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Endangered (EN) (A2d+3d); Date assessed: 07 August 2018

CITES


CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 9997)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Trophic ecology
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Ecology
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Length-length rel.
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BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
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Swimming type
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Visual pigment(s)
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Diseases / Parasites
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Genetics
Genetics
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Internet sources

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

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.2 - 28.5, mean 27.1 °C (based on 230 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00324 (0.00210 - 0.00498), b=3.09 (2.97 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.9   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=2).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (56 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 9.67 [1.95, 51.08] mg/100g; Iron = 0.451 [0.117, 1.280] mg/100g; Protein = 22 [19, 24] %; Omega3 = 0.112 [0.046, 0.250] g/100g; Selenium = 29.7 [7.8, 79.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 60 [25, 149] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.659 [0.316, 1.270] mg/100g (wet weight);