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Dusky Shark
Image by Robbie N. Cada (former FishBase staff member) - License: Public Domain. (view image details)
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DUSKY SHARK FACTS |
Description
The Dusky Shark is a large shark with a pointed snout, long curved pectoral fins and a ridge between the two dorsal fins. The first dorsal fin is tall and the second is low and broad. The upper teeth are triangular and serrated. The lower jaw teeth are more slender. The species is grey, blue-grey or grey-brown above with white underside. There is an indistinct stripe on the body from behind the gills to the tail. Juveniles have a dusky coloured lower tail lobe and underside of the pectoral fins. Fin markings are less prominent as the fish ages.
Other Names
Black Whaler, Dusky Whaler.
Size
length to 4.2m (to 3.6m in Australian waters). Weight to 347kg
Habitat
Found in coastal waters and offshore waters on in continental and island shelves at depths of 200m - 400m. Juveniles are found in shallower waters.
Food
fish, sharks, skates, rays, cephalopods, gastropods, carrion
Breeding
Viviparous. Gives birth to a litter of 6 to 14 pups after 16 months gestation. The young are about 95cm at birth.
Range
The Dusky Shark is found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate waters. In Australia it is found around the entire coast in all coastal and continental shelf waters.
Notes
The dusky shark has not been linked to attacks on humans. It is potentially dangerous due to its large size and its occurrence in shallow coastal waters.
Classification
| Class: | Chondrichthyes | | Order: | Carcharhiniformes | | Family: | Carcharhinidae | | Genus: | Carcharhinus | | Species: | obscurus | | Common Name: | Dusky Shark |
Relatives in same Genus
Grey Whaler Shark (C. amblyrhynchos)
Silky Shark (C. falciformis)
Bull Shark (C. leucas)
Blacktip Reef Shark (C. melanopterus)
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