Carcharhinus isodon
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)
Carcharhinidae (Requiem Sharks)
Carcharhinus
Carcharhinus isodon (Finetooth 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.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Rather slender, with a keel; preoral snout length is 1.3 times internasal distance; upper labial furrows are short and inconspicuous; anterior nasal flap is poorly developed; upper jaw has 12 to 15 tooth rows on each side, and lower jaw has 13 to 14; teeth in antero-lateral section of upper jaw have very narrow, smooth to weakly serrated, and erect to slightly oblique cusps; gill openings are very long; longest (third) is 4.8% to 5.7% of TL and about one-half of first dorsal fin base; pectoral fin and first dorsal fin taper distally; origin of first dorsal fin is above or slightly posterior to axil of pectoral fin; second dorsal fin is relatively large but less than one-half height of first dorsal fin and originates above or slightly posterior to anal fin origin; ridge between dorsal fin bases is lacking, and caudal peduncle lacks a ventral lobe.
Bluish gray to bronze dorsally and white ventrally; band of dorsal coloration extends ventrally from level of pectoral fin to pelvic fin.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from New York (rarely) to Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Close to shore over its entire range
Biology
Food consists of cephalopods and small bony fishes
Maximum known size is about 189 cm TL
Development is viviparous; litters range from one to six young; males mature at about 115 cm TL, females mature at about 130 to 140 cm TL, and young are about 50 cm TL at birth
Commonly found close inshore. Forms large schools. Feeds on small bony fishes and cephalopods. Viviparous (with a yolk-sac placenta), 1 to 6 young per litter. Size at birth 51 to 64 cm. Presumably eaten fresh and dried salted.
IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened (NT), assessed 2019-07-01. Resilience: Very low (Fec=1).
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.
References
Bigelow and Schroeder 1948a
Baughman and Springer 1950
Clark and von Schmidt 1965
Applegate et al. 1979
Branstetter and Shipp 1980
Branstetter 1981
Branstetter 1984
Castro 1983
Compagno 1984
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Castro 1993a
Castro 1993b
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
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.
Weigmann, S. (2016) Annotated checklist of the living sharks, batoids and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) of the world, with a focus on biogeographical diversity. J. Fish Biol. 88(1):1-201. DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12874
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