Author: Müller and Henle, 1839

Field Marks:
A small, very slim requiem shark with a long snout, big eyes with posterior notches, labial furrows very short or rudimentary, small, oblique-cusped teeth without serrations or cusplets, first dorsal origin behind pectoral free rear tips, second dorsal much smaller than first, second dorsal origin about over anal insertion, anal larger than second dorsals with very long preanal ridges. Colour greyish to brownish without a prominent colour pattern.

Diagnostic Features:
Body rather slender. Head fairly narrow, only moderately depressed, not trowelshaped; snout narrowly parabolic in dorsoventral view, very long, with preoral length greater than internarial space and mouth width; eyes large, with posterior notches; spiracles absent or minute and vestigial; no papillose gillrakers on internal gill openings; nostrils small, internarial space about 4 to 5 times nostril width; anterior nasal flaps very short, narrowly triangular, and not tubular; labial furrows very short to rudimentary, with uppers shorter than lowers and falling far behind eyes; teeth similar in upper and lower jaws, anteroposteriors with slender oblique cusps and distal blades but no cusplets or serrations; cusps of lower teeth not prominently protruding when mouth is closed; 25 to 28/24 to 28 rows of teeth. Interdorsal ridge absent or rudimentary; no dermal keels present on caudal peduncle; upper precaudal pit transverse and crescentic. First dorsal origin behind pectoral rear tips, midbase about equidistant between pectoral and pelvic bases, and free rear tip usually anterior to pelvic origins but occasionally over them; second dorsal fin much smaller than first, its height 1/4 of first dorsal height or less; its origin about over anal insertion; pectoral fin moderately broad and triangular, slightly falcate, pectoral length from origin to free rear tip 2/3 to 3/4 of pectoral anterior margin; pectoral origins under interspace between third and fourth gill slits; anal much larger than second dorsal, with very long preanal ridges and a straight or slightly concave posterior margin. Colour light grey, yellowish or brownish grey above, without a colour pattern. Smail sharks, adults not exceeding 1 m.

Geographical Distribution:
Confined to the Indo-West Pacific: South Africa, Madagascar, Scychelles and Red Sea east to India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, Taiwan Island, Japan, The Philippines, Australia (Queensland and probably other states).

Habitat and Biology:
A small, common tropical inshore shark of the continental and insular shelves, found in moderately shallow, clear waters, at depths from 7 to 80 m; occurs near the surface and at the bottom. Viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta; number of young 2 to 4 per litter. Feeds on small bony fishes, includinganchovies and croakers, and shrimp and cuttle- fish. Harmless to people.
Size:
Maximum 91 cm, males maturing between 62 and 66 cm and reaching at least 85 cm; females mature at 79 cm and reaching at least 91 cm; size at birth about 40 to 43 cm.

Interest to Fisheries:
This small shark is caught in artisanal and smallscale commercial fisheries, and is especially important in southeastern India. It is taken in floating and bottom gillnets and with pelagic and bottom longlines; its meat is utilized fresh for human consumption.

Type material:
Holotype: Zoologisches Museum, Humboldt Universitat, Berlin, ISZZ 4479, 315 mm fetus. Type Locality: Unknown.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Chondrichthyes
Subclass Elasmobranchii
Superorder Galeomorphii
Order Carcharhiniformes
Family Carcharhinidae
Genus Loxodon
Species Loxodon macrorhinus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Loxodon macrorhinus Müller & Henle, 1839

Scientific synonyms and common names

Loxodon macrorhinus Müller and Henle, 1839

Loxodon macrorhinus Müller and Henle, 1839, Syst.Beschr.Plagiost., (2):61, pl. 25.

Synonymy:
Carcharias (Scoliodon) dumerili Bleeker, 1865
Carcharias albomarginatus Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1899
Scoliodon iordani Ogilby, 1908
Scoliodon affinis Ogilby, 1912
Scoliodon ceylonensis Setna and Sarangdhar, 1946.

FAO Names:
Sliteye shark [English]
Requin sagrin [French]
Tiburón ojuelo [Spanish]
CARCH Lox 1 [FAO Code]

Fowler, H.W., 1941. The fishes of the groups Elasmobranchii, Holocephali, Isospondyli, and Ostariophysi obtained by US Bureau of Fishing Steamer ALBATROSS. Bull.U.S.Natl.Mus., 100(13):879 p.

Setna, S.B. and P.N. Sarangdhar, 1949. Breeding habits of Bombay elasmobranchs. Rec.Indian Mus., 47(1):107-24

Setna, S.B. and P.N. Sarangdhar, 1949a. A contribution to the systematics of Scoliodon acutus (Rüppell), Hemipristis elongatus (Klunzinger) and Torpedo zugmayeri Engelhart. Rec.Indian Mus., 47(1):125-34

Wheeler, J.F.G., 1959. Sharks of Western Indian Ocean. 1. Loxodon macrorhinus. East Afr.Agric.J., 25(2):106-9

Springer, V.G., 1964. A revision of the Carcharhinid shark genera Scoliodon, Loxodon, and Rhizoprionodon. Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus. , 115(3493) : 559-632

Nair, R.V. and K.K. Appukuttan, 1974. Observations on the developmental stages of the smooth dogfish, Eridacnis radcliffei Smith from Gulf of Mannar. Indian J.Fish., 21(1):141-51

Bass, A.J., J.D. D'Aubrey and N. Kistnasamy, 1975b. Sharks of the east coast of southern Africa. 4. The families Odontaspididae, Scapanorhyn chidae, Isuridae, Cetorhinidae, Alopiidae, Orectolobidae and Rhiniodontidae. Invest.Rep.Oceanoar. Res.Inst., Durban, (39):102 p.

Compagno, L.J.V., 1979. Carcharhinoid sharks: morphology, systematics and phylogeny. Unpublished Ph. D. Thesis, Stanford University, 932 p. Available from University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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