Pseudocarcharias kamoharai (Crocodile shark)

(Matsubara, 1936)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Chondrichthyes > Elasmobranchii > Galeomorphii > Lamniformes > Pseudocarchariidae

Pseudocarcharias kamoharai (Crocodile shark) [Illustration by Ann Hecht ©]

Identification

A big-eyed, spindle-shaped oceanic shark with long, spikelike teeth and small pectoral fins. Colour dark brown above, paler below, some with white spots or blotches.

Size

To 1.1 m TL.

Range

West coast off Cape Town, possibly off entire east coast; circumtropical.

Habitat

Oceanic, usually found offshore and far from land, sometimes occurring inshore and near the bottom, from the surface to 300 m.

Biology

Rare in the area, common in the Mozambique Channel; Bears 4 young. Eats small pelagic bony fishes, squid and shrimp.

Human Impact

None.

Text by Leonard J.V. Compagno, David A. Ebert and Malcolm J. Smale