| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | CHONDRICHTHYES | CARCHARHINIFORMES | CARCHARHINIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Loxodon macrorhinus | |||
| Species Authority: | Müller & Henle, 1839 | |||
Common Name/s:
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| Red List Category & Criteria: | Least Concern ver 3.1 |
| Year Assessed: | 2003 |
| Assessor/s | Simpfendorfer, C.A. & Stevens, J. (SSG Australia & Oceania Regional Workshop, March 2003) |
| Evaluator/s: | Fowler, S. & Cavanagh, R.D. (Shark Red List Authority) |
|
Justification: This small inshore shark is common throughout the Indo-West Pacific and is commonly caught in artisanal, subsistence and commercial fisheries. There are few data on its biology or trends in abundance. In parts of its range (e.g., South East Asia) its abundance has probably declined due to fishing. However, it is presumably a fast growing species that can sustain a reasonable level of fishing pressure and so is listed globally as Least Concern. |
|
| Range Description: | This species occurs almost continuously from eastern South Africa to southern Japan and northern Australia. Areas in South East Asia where it has not been recorded are probably the result of a lack of information rather than a break in the distribution. For example, global and regional guides (Compagno 1984, Last and Stevens 1994) do not record this species as occurring around Borneo, but recent surveys have recorded it in the Sabah fish markets (Manjaji 2002). |
| Countries: |
Native:
Australia; China; Djibouti; Egypt; Eritrea; India; Indonesia; Japan; Kenya; Madagascar; Mozambique; Myanmar; Oman; Pakistan; Saudi Arabia; Somalia; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Taiwan, Province of China; Tanzania, United Republic of; Yemen
|
| FAO Marine Fishing Areas: |
Native:
Indian Ocean – western; Indian Ocean – eastern; Pacific – northwest; Pacific – western central
|
| Population: | There are no data available on the population size of this species at any point through its range, however, it does appear to be common in inshore waters through most of its range. |
| Population Trend: |
Unknown
|
| Habitat and Ecology: |
Loxodon macrorhinus is a small species of shark. The young are born at 40 to 45 cm, they mature around 60 cm, and grow to a maximum of 90 cm. They reproduce annually and usually have a litter size of two. There are no data available on age and growth, but like other closely related small tropical carcharhinid species, they presumably are fast growing and early maturing making them capable of sustaining reasonable levels of fishing pressure.
They feed on teleost fish, crustaceans and occasionally cephalopods. |
| Systems: | Marine |
| Major Threat(s): |
This species is commonly caught in artisinal, subsistence and commercial fisheries throughout their range, but are rarely targeted. In particular they are heavily fished in southern India where their flesh is used for human consumption (Compagno 1984). Manjaji (2002) reported them in the fish markets of Sabah, Malaysia. In Australian waters this species is most commonly caught in fish trawls in northern areas, where it is one of the most common shark species caught (Last and Stevens 1994).
Their small size and productive life history make them capable of sustaining reasonable levels of fishing pressure, and so throughout most of their range they are likely to be unaffected by fishing. |
| Conservation Actions: | There are no conservation measures in place for this species. |
| Citation: | Simpfendorfer, C.A. & Stevens, J. 2003. Loxodon macrorhinus. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 03 December 2008. |
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