Carcharhinus acronotus
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)
Carcharhinidae (Requiem Sharks)
Carcharhinus
Carcharhinus acronotus (Blacknose Shark)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
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Characters
Relatively slender, with a moderately long, rounded snout and a relatively low caudal fin with a moderately developed ventral lobe. Preoral snout length is 1.4 to 1.7 times internasal distance. Upper labial furrows are short and inconspicuous. Anterior nasal flap is relatively well developed and narrow based. Upper jaw has 12 to 13 tooth rows on each side, and lower jaw has 11 to 12. Teeth located in anterolateral section of upper jaw have moderately narrow, strongly serrated, and distinctly oblique cusps. Gill openings are short; longest (third) is 2.7% to 3.2% of TL and less than one-third of first dorsal fin base. Pectoral fin and first dorsal fin taper distally, forming narrowly rounded apical tips. Origin of first dorsal fin is over free tip of pectoral fin. Second dorsal fin is of moderate size but less than one-half height of first dorsal fin and is over or posterior to anal fin origin. Ridge between dorsal fin bases is lacking, and caudal peduncle lacks keel.
Color is yellowish to greenish gray, yellowish brown, or bronze dorsally and white to pale yellow ventrally. Tip of snout has distinct dusky blotch, and tip of second dorsal fin is dusky to black.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Florida, the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and the Gulf of Mexico to southern Brazil.
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Continental and insular shelves
Biology
Food consists of small bony fishes.
Maximum known size is 165 cm TL
Development is viviparous with a yolk sac placenta. Litters range from three to six young. Males mature at 97 to 106 cm TL, females mature at 103 cm TL, and young are 38 to 50 cm TL at birth.
Found on continental and insular shelves, mainly over sandy, shell, and coral bottoms. Feeds on small fishes, including pinfish (Sparidae) and porcupine fish. Preyed on by larger sharks. Viviparous (with a yolk-sac placenta), with 3 to 6 young per litter. Performs a 'hunch' display, with back arched, caudal lowered and head raised, as a possible threat display when confronted by divers. Utilized dried salted for human consumption. Minimum depth from Ref. 055176.
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered (EN), assessed 2019-07-01. Resilience: Low (K=0.12; tm=3; tmax=15; Fec=4).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
References
Bigelow and Schroeder 1948a
Clark and von Schmidt 1965
Hoese and Moore 1977
Applegate et al. 1979
Branstetter 1981
Garrick 1982
Castro 1983
Compagno 1984
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Bonfil et al. 1990
Compagno, L.J.V. (1984) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO.
Cortés, E. (1999) Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 56:707-717.
Compagno, L.J.V. (2003) Carcharhinidae. Requiem sharks (ground sharks, blue sharks, sharpnose sharks). p. 466-496. In K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 1: Introduction, molluscs, crustaceans, hagfishes, sharks, batoid fishes, and chimaeras.
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