| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | CHONDRICHTHYES | CARCHARHINIFORMES | HEMIGALEIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Paragaleus randalli | |||
| Species Authority: | Compagno, Krupp & Carpenter, 1996 | |||
Common Name/s:
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| Taxonomic Notes: | Randall, in Sharks of Arabia (1986), recorded Hypogaleus hyugaensis from the Persian Gulf, but this apparently was a new Paragaleus which was subsequently named P. randalli (Compagno et al. 1996). Currently H. hyugaensis is known from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania (Zanzibar), Australia, and Taiwan and Japan; H. hyugaensis could occur in the Persian Gulf, but there isn't any data to support its presence there and it seems to be a deeper-water species than P. randalli (L. Compagno, pers. comm. to ABMM 15.6.2007).
It is likely that this species has been widely overlooked in previous work in the area and misidentified as other species of hemigaleids, or even as small carcharhinids, given its superficial resemblance to this group. |
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| Red List Category & Criteria: | Near Threatened ver 3.1 |
| Year Published: | 2009 |
| Assessor/s: | Moore, A.B.M. |
| Reviewer/s: | Stevens, J.D., Valenti, S.V. & Fowler, S.L. (Shark Red List Authority) |
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Justification: The Slender Weasel Shark (Paragaleus randalli) has a patchy distribution in the Indian Ocean, found inshore in shallow water to 18 m depth. The species is poorly known; it was only described in 1996. Thus, misidentifications throughout its range are likely to have been (and continue to be) common, and its true abundance and distribution is poorly known. The lack of elasmobranch monitoring in range states means that no population data are available. This species is likely to be marketed widely (along with other small hemigaleids and caracharhinids) throughout its range, either as a result of targeted fisheries or retained bycatch (e.g., in shrimp trawls). Inshore fishing pressure is intense throughout this shallow water species? range and widespread, rapid and intensive habitat loss is also likely to have an important effect on this species. Threats from fishing and habitat degradation are continuing and population declines approaching 30%, at least, are suspected. The species may prove to meet the criteria for VU A4bcd in the future and is in urgent need of species-specific monitoring. |
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| Range Description: |
Currently documented as North Indian Ocean: Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, west and south coast of India (west of the Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat; off Quilon, Kerala; and off Cape Comorin, Tamil Nadu), Sri Lanka, and the northeast coast of India (Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh) (Compagno in prep.). Its distribution, however, may be patchy. It is not reported in fisheries landings or surveys from Oman (A. Henderson, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, pers. comm.; Henderson et al. 2007) or India (Venkataraman et al. 2003). This may be as a result of misidentification as other hemigaleids species over its range, especially given that it was described only relatively recently. |
| Countries: |
Native:
India; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Oman; Pakistan; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sri Lanka; United Arab Emirates
|
| FAO Marine Fishing Areas: |
Native:
Indian Ocean – eastern; Indian Ocean – western
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| Range Map: | Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
| Population: | The lack of elasmobranch monitoring in range states (such as fisheries surveys performing elasmobranch identification to species level, and species-specific landings data/market surveys) means that no population data are available. There are no known population estimates for this species. |
| Population Trend: |
Unknown
|
| Habitat and Ecology: | Found inshore in shallow water to depths of 18 m on the continental shelf. A viviparous species giving birth to two pups per litter. Pups are 29 cm when born and grow up to a maximum length of at least 81 cm (Compagno et al. 2005). |
| Systems: | Marine |
| Major Threat(s): |
Reported in Carpenter et al. (1997) for the Persian/Arabian Gulf as being taken in trawls and gillnets and utilized for human consumption and fishmeal. Known to be caught in trawls in Kuwait (Compagno et al. 1996, Bishop 2003). Recorded as being marketed whole in the UAE at least (ABMM, pers. obs., based on photograph supplied by Dr. J. Stevens taken in a Dubai fish market summer 2007), and likely in other range states. Widespread, rapid and intensive habitat loss is likely to have an important effect on this species, which is probably predominantly demersal. In the Persian/Arabian Gulf this includes changes due to the damming of the Tigris-Euphrates river system in Turkey and the drainage of the Iraqi marshes (Al-Yamani et al. 2007), chronic and acute (e.g., war-related) releases of oil, rapid large-scale coastal development (e.g., megastructures in the UAE), and changes to benthic communities from demersal trawling. |
| Conservation Actions: |
Finning of sharks is prohibited in the likely range states of United Arab Emirates and Oman. No other known conservation measures. None of the range states so far recorded (Persian/Arabian Gulf states, India, Sri Lanka) have an FAO Shark Plan in place. |
| Citation: | Moore, A.B.M. 2009. Paragaleus randalli. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2012. |
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