Chiloscyllium griseum
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Orectolobiformes (Carpet Sharks)
Hemiscylliidae (Bamboo Sharks)
Chiloscyllium
Chiloscyllium griseum
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. Genus: Nostrils subterminal on snout; pre-oral snout long, mouth closer to eyes than snout tip; eyes and supraorbital ridges hardly elevated; no black hood on head or large spot or spots on sides of body above pectoral fins (Ref. 43278). Caudal fin with a pronounced subterminal notch but without a ventral lobe (Ref. 13575).
Species: Light brown, yellow-brown or grey-brown above, cream below, with 12-13 prominent saddle marks in young, fading with growth and absent in adults (Ref. 13575). Dark bands in juveniles not outline in black (Ref. 13575). Dorsal fins smaller than pelvic fins, without projecting free rear tips (Ref. 13575). Body without lateral dermal ridge (Ref. 4832,43278, 13575).
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand. Reported records of this species from the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan are misidentifications of
C. punctatum (Ref. 125614). Many country records need confirmation (Ref. 13575).
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. reef-associated. depth range 5-100 m. Found in: estuaries.
Biology
A common inshore bottom shark (Ref. 247). Often found in estuaries (Ref. 4832). Probably feeds mainly on invertebrates (Ref. 247, 43278). Oviparous (Ref. 43278, 50449). Utilized as a food fish (Ref. 171).
Max length: 77.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: internal (oviduct); nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Oviparous, deposits eggs in small, oval eggs cases on the bottom (Ref. 247). Paired eggs are laid. Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205). During copulation observed in captivity, the male bites the female's pectoral fin in a side-to-side position (Ref. 49562, 51121).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2020-05-28. Resilience: Low (Fec assumed to be <100).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
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 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/1):1-249. Rome, FAO.
Compagno, L.J.V. and V.H. Niem (1998) Hemiscylliidae. Longtail carpetsharks. p. 1249-1259. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO identification guide for fishery purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific Vol. 2. Rome: FAO.
Cortés, E. (1999) Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 56:707-717.
Allen, G.R. and M.V. Erdmann (2012) Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth, Australia: Universitiy of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research.
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
Ebert, D.A., S. Fowler and M. Dando (2021) Sharks of the World: A complete guide. Princeton University Press, 607 p. DOI: 10.1515/9780691210872
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