Author: (Ruppell, 1835)

Rhizoprionodon acutus (Ruppell, 1835)

Diagnosis: snout long, prenarial length greater than 1/2 pre-oral length. Teeth as for genus, erect anteriorly, oblique posteriorly, smooth-edged to slightly serrate. Eyes horizontally oval. Gill openings short. First dorsal fin origin usually in advance of free tip of appressed pectoral fin; pectoral fins relatively short; inter-dorsal ridge present or absent; second dorsal fin origin over posterior third of anal base. Colour: grey to brown above, white below; pectoral fins with pale hind edge. Size: to 105 cm TL.

Habitat: coastal waters, one reported from freshwater; demersal? Food: fishes, squids and cephalopods. Reproduction: viviparous, number in litter 3 to 8; mature at near 60 cm TL.

Distribution: northward to Madeira. Elsewhere, tropical Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Japan.

Complementary iconography. Pietschmann, 1913, pl. 1 | Poll, 1951, fig. 14-15 | V. Springer, 1964, fig. 5-6.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Thillayampalam, 1928: 101 | Setna & Sarangdhar, 1949: 109.

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

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Rhizoprionodon acutus (Ruppell, 1835)

Synonyms:

Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1835)
Carcharias acutus Rüppell, 1835, Fische Rothen Meeres: 65, pl. 18 (fig. 4) (Djetta). Lectotype: SMF no. 2783.
Carcharias eumeces Pietschmann, 1913, Jb. nassau. Ver. Naturk., 66: 172, pl. I (Bibundi, Cameroons). Holotype: Stadt. Mus. Wiesbaden no. 931.
Scoliodon terrae-novae: Fowler, 1936, 1: 45.
Scoliodon acutus: Fowler, 1936, 1: 46.
Rhizoprionodon (Rhizoprionodon) acutus: V. Springer, 1964, 594, fig. 5-6.

Common names:

Milk shark [En]
Requin a museau pointu [Fr]
Cazon picudo [Es]

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.

Pietschmann, V. 1913. Fische des Wiesbadener Museum. Jb. nassau. Ver. Naturk., 66 :170-201, 2 pl.

Pietschmann, V. 1913. Fische des Wiesbadener Museum. Jb. nassau. Ver. Naturk., 66 :170-201, 2 pl.

Poll, M.1951. Poissons. I. Généralités. II. Sélaciens et Chiméres. Rés. Sci. Expéd. océanogr. belg. Eaux côt. afr. Atlant. Sud (1948-49J, 4 (1) :1-154, 66 fig., 13 pl.

Rüppell, E. 1835a. Fische des rothen Meeres, (4): 148 p., 33 pl., in Neue Wirbelthiere zu der Fauna von Abyssinien gehörig. Frankfurt am Main, 1835-40.

Setna, S. B.; Sarandghar, P. N. 1949. Breeding habits of Bombay Elasmobranchs. Rec. Indian Mus., 47 :107-124.

Springer, V. G. 1964. A Revision of the Carcharhinid Shark Genera Scoliodon, Loxodon, and Mizoprionodon. Proc. U.S. natn. Mus., 115 (3493): 559-632, fig. 14, pl. 2.

Thillayampalam, E. M. 1928. Scoliodon (the common shark of the Indian Seas). Indian zool Mem., 2: xi+116 p., 42 fig.

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