Author: (Valenciennes, 1841)

Carcharhinus leucas (Valenciennes, 1841)

Diagnosis: body stout. Snout very short, prenarial distance less than distance between nostrils. Teeth serrate, uppers triangular, inner edge straight, outer edge concave posteriorly, lowers erect, curved inward, narrow cusped. First dorsal fin high and broad, triangular, its origin over pectoral insertion; pectoral fins large and broad; second dorsal fin relatively high for Carcharhinus; no inter-dorsal ridge. Colour: grey above, white below. Size: to about 300 cm TL, common to 240 cm TL.

Habitat: coastal waters, frequenting estuaries, penetrating freshwater; sluggish demersal, powerful due to size. Food: fishes, crabs. Reproduction: viviparous, 1 liter every two years, 4-10 pups born at 75-80 cm TL. Parturition in coastal or estuarine waters; gestation period 1O-12 months; size at maturity dependent on locality.

Distribution: possibly enters area since otherwise cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical seas; eastern Atlantic records are from Angola and Gambia (freshwater).

Complementary iconography. Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948, fig. 60-61, 70.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Chondrichthyes
Superorder Pleurotremata
Family Carcharhinidae
Genus Carcharhinus
Species Carcharhinus leucas

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Carcharhinus leucas (Müller & Henle, 1839)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Carcharhinus leucas (Valenciennes, 1841)

Synonyms:

Carcharhinrs leucas (Valenciennes, 1841)
Carcharias (Prionodon) leucas Valenciennes, 1841, in Müller & Henle, Syst. Beschr. Plagiost.: 42 (Antilles). Holotype: lost; 2 paratypes: MNHN no. 9650, 9652.
Carcharhinus nicaraguensis (Gill & Bransford, 1877)
Carcharhinus zambezensis Peters, 1868
Carcharhinus vanrooyeni Smith, 1958

Common names:

Bull shark [En]
Requin bouledogue [Fr]
Tiburon sarda [Es]

Bigelow, H. B.; Schroeder, W. C. 1948b. Sharks. In: Fishes of the western north Atlantic. Mem. Sears Found. Mar. Res., New Haven, 1(1): 59-576, fig. 6-106.

Müller, J.; Henle, J.1841. Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen. Berlin, xxii+204 p., 60 pl.

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