FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

Hemigaleidae 1311
Paragaleus tengi (Chen, 1963)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Negogaleus tengi Chen, 1963; N. longicaudatus Bessednov,
1964 / None.
FAO names: En - Straight-tooth weasel shark; Fr - Milandre belette; Sp - Comadreja coluda.
upper teeth of right side
Diagnostic characters: A small shark. Body slender. Snout long, its length slightly
greater than mouth width, rounded toward tip; labial furrows moderately long and
easily seen, the upper furrows falling well behind symphysis of lower jaw; anterior
dermal denticles
nasal flaps with a short triangular lobe; mouth rather short and arched, its length
about 2/3 of the width; spiracles small; gill openings moderate sized, the longest slightly longer than
eye length in adults, slightly shorter in young; teeth in upper jaw with narrow, moderately long,
semierect to oblique cusps and distal cusplets (except for erect-cusped symphyseal teeth), entirely
smooth-edged; teeth in lower jaw with slightly arched roots and moderately long, mostly erect cusps
that do not protrude when mouth is closed, and with low cusplets but no serrations. First dorsal fin
moderately large, with a narrowly rounded apex and short inner margin, its origin slightly posterior to free
rear tips of pectoral fins and the free rear tip anterior to pelvic-fin origins, second dorsal fin high, about
2/3 of length of first dorsal fin, with a short inner margin less than fin height, and its origin slightly anterior
to anal-fin origin; anal fin slightly smaller than second dorsal fin, without preanal ridges; upper precaudal
pit transverse and crescentic, no keels on caudal peduncle; pectoral fins weakly falcate and pelvic fins
not falcate. Intestine with a spiral valve. Colour: body grey or grey-brown above, light below, no prominent
markings on body and fins.
Size: Maximum total length about 88 cm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A little-known inshore shark, depth range not reported. Taken in fisheries
in Thailand, and elsewhere where it occurs.
Distribution: Western Pacific
from Japan, Taiwan Province
of China, Viet Nam, southern
China, and Thailand.
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