Author: (Lesueur, 1818)

Carcharhinus obscurus (Lesueur, 1818)

Diagnosis: snout relatively short, rounded. Teeth serrate, uppers somewhat oblique, lowers wlth narrow cusps; tooth counts

14 or 15-1 to 3-14 or 15
————————————————
14-1 to 3-14

First dorsal fin origin over pectoral fin free tip, the fin relatively low, apex rounded; pectoral fins falcate, underside with dusky tips; second dorsal fin with short free tip, 1-1 1/2 times fin height; inter-dorsal ridge present. Colour: grey to bronze above, white below; underside of pectorals and pelvics with dusky tips, lower caudal lobe often darker at tip. Size: to 365 cm TL.

Habitat: epipelagic in coastal and open oceanic waters, demersal in coastal waters; often seen sunning at surface, powerful due to size. Food: fishes, crustaceans. Reproduction: viviparous, 6-12 embryos, born at 85-100 cm TL. Gestation period may be 16 months, with two separate breeding populations of females; mature at 275-300 cm TL.

Distribution: nominally recorded from Portugal, Madeira, Morocco, but may have been confused with C. galapagensis; in Mediterranean, nominally reported off the coast ot Spain and a single capture off Tunisia. Elsewhere, cosmopolitan.

Complementary iconography. Lesueur, 1818, pl. 9 | Lozano Rey, 1928, fig. 100-101 | Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948, fig. 71-72 | Kato et al., 1967, fig. 74.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948: 387.

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

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Carcharhinus obscurus (Lesueur, 1818)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Carcharhinus obscurus (Lesueur, 1818)

Synonyms:

Carcharhinus obscurus (Lesueur, 1818)
Squalus obscurus Lesueur, 1818, J. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., 1(2): 223, pl. 9 (North America). Type: unknown.
Squalus falcipinnis Lowe, 1839, in part, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 7: 90 (Madeira). Type: unknown.
Carcharias obscurus: Günther, 1870: 366 Noronha & Sarmento, 1948: 106, 138.
Carcharhinus commersonii: Lozano Rey, 1928: 342, fig. 100-101 Albuquerque, 1954-1956: 102, fig. 61 Dollfus, 1955: 19.
Eulamia obscurus: Fowler, 1936,1: 49, fig. 11.
Carcharhinus obscurus: Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948: 382, fig. 71-72 Albuquerque, 1954-1956: 103 Dollfus, 1955: 19.

Common names:

Dusky shark [En]
Requin sombre [Fr]
Tiburón arenero [Es]
Melgacho [Es]
Faqueta [Pr]

Albuquerque, R. M. 1954-1956. Peixes de Portugal e ilhas adjacentes. Chavas para a sua determinação. Port. Acta biol., ser. B,5:xvi+1167 p., 445 fig.

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.

Dollfus, R. Ph. 1955. Première contribution à l'établissement d'un fichier ichthyologique du Maroc atlantique de Tanger à l'embouchure de l'Oued Dra. Trav. Inst. scient. chérif., ZooL, (6): 227 p., 1 map.

Fowler, H. W.1936. The Marine Fishes of West Africa, based on the collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition 1909-15. Bull. am. Mus. nat. Hist., 70 (1), Jan. 21, 1936: vii+606 p., fig. 1-275; (2), Nov. 18,1936: 607-1493, fig. 276-567.

Günther, A.1870. Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. 8. Catalogue of the Physostomi containing the families Gymnotidae, Symbranchidae, Muraenidae, Pegasidae and of the Lophobranchii, Plectognathi, Dipnoi, Ganoidei, Chondropterygii, Cyclostomata, Leptocardii in the collection of the British Museum. London, xxv+549 p.

Kato, S.; Springer, S.; Wagner, M. H. 1967. Field Guide to Eastern Pacific and Hawaiian Sharks. Circ. Fish Wildl. Serv., Wash., 271: 47 p., 75 fig.

Lesueur, C. A. 1818a. Description of several new species of North American fishes. J. Acad. nat Sci. Philad. (n.s.), 1: 222-235; 359-368, 3 pl.

Lowe, R. T.1839. A supplement to a synopsis of the Fishes of Madeira. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 7: 76-92 (also publ. in Trans. zool. Soc. Lond., 1842, 3 (1) :1-20).

Lozano y Rey, L.1928. Fauna Ibérica. Pesces (Generalidades, Ciclóstomos y Elasmobranquios). Mus. Nac. Ciencias Nat., Madrid, 1:1-692,197 fig., 20 pl.

Noronha, A. C. di; Sarmento, A. A. 1948. Vertebrados da Madeira. Funchal, Junta Gen. Distr. Aut., 2:181 p.

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