FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

Carcharhinidae 1329
Carcharhinus amboinensis (Müller and Henle, 1839)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Triaenodon obtusus Day, 1878 / Carcharhinus leucas
(Valenciennes in Müller and Henle, 1839); Glyphis gangeticus (Müller and Henle, 1839).
FAO names: En - Pigeye shark; Fr - Requin balestrine; Sp - Tiburón baleta.
Diagnostic characters: A medium to large,
stout-bodied shark. Snout extremely short (usually
shorter than distance between nostrils, and much
shorter than mouth width), very broadly rounded; labial
furrows very short; spiracles absent; nostrils with a low,
broadly triangular anterior nasal flap; teeth in upper jaw
triangular, with broad, heavy, serrated cusps, their
outer edges nearly straight in anterior teeth but
becoming increasingly concave in lateral teeth; cusps of
lower teeth heavy, erect to slightly oblique with serrated
edges, their bases strongly arched.First dorsal fin very
high (its height 3.2 or more times that of second dorsal fin) with a pointed or slightly rounded apex, its origin a
little in advance of insertions of pectoral fins; second dorsal fin low, with its inner margin about equal to fin
height, its posterior margin nearly straight, and its origin slightly in front of anal fin; pectoral fins large, broad,
with narrow, pointed tips. No dermal ridge between dorsal fins. Colour: grey above, light below, tips of fins
darker in young, fading in adults.
Size: Maximum total length about 2.8 m, maturing at about 2.1 to 2.2 m; size at birth between about 43 to
53 cm length.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: An inshore as well as offshore continental species occurring from the
surfline to a depth of 150 m. Found in shallow bays and estuaries as well as off open coast but apparently
not ascending rivers like Carcharhinus leucas or Glyphis spp. Viviparous, number of young 3 to 13 per
litter. Feeds on a wide variety of demersal and pelagic bony fishes (which are its most important prey),
sharks and rays, squid, cuttlefish and octopuses, and lobsters and shrimp. Uncommonly scavenges prey
and rarely feeds on marine mammals. Potentially dangerous to people, but not recorded in shark attacks
to date and perhaps less
inclined to attack people than
C. leucas because of its
narrower prey spectrum.
Caught on longlines and in gill
nets and utilized fresh and
dried-salted.
Distribution: Known from off
South Africa, Madagascar, the
Gulf of Aden, Pakistan, and Sri
Lanka; elsewhere from the
eastern Atlantic (Nigeria) and
western South Pacific.
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ventral view
of head
upper and lower
tooth near centre