Author: (Valenciennes, 1841)
Carcharhinus leucas (Valenciennes, 1841)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Carcharhinus leucas (Müller and Henle, 1839) (updated 2009-06-25)
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 and Schroeder, 1948, fig. 60-61, 70.