FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

1346 Sharks
Carcharhinus sealei (Pietschmann, 1916)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Carcharhinus menisorrah (Valenciennes in Müller and Henle,
1839) / Carcharhinus dussumieri.
FAO names: En - Blackspot shark; Fr - Requin à tache noire; Sp - Tiburón alinegro.
Diagnostic characters: A small, stout to
slender-bodied shark. Snout moderately long
and narrowly parabolic or wedge-shaped, its
length usually shorter than mouth width but
subequal to the internarial space; labial furrows
very short; anterior nasal flaps expanded;
spiracles absent; gill slits short; teeth with
serrated edges, upper teeth with
narrow-based, strongly oblique serrated
cusps and strong, smooth-edged cusplets;
teeth in lower jaw erect to oblique, without
cusplets, serrated and narrow-cusped; first
ventral view
of head
upper and lower
tooth near centre
dorsal fin moderately high, with an angular apex, notched posterior margin, and short inner margin,
strongly falcate; origin of first dorsal fin over pectoral inner margins; origin of second dorsal fin about
opposite or slightly behind that of anal fin; second dorsal fin high, its inner margin less than 1.5 times the
fin height and its posterior margin concave; pectoral fins short and strongly falcate, with narrow, angular
apexes. An interdorsal ridge present or occasionally absent on back. Colour: back greyish or
grey-brown, belly whitish; a black spot on the second dorsal fin is the only conspicuous marking.
Size: Maximum total length about 95 cm; maturing at 70 to 80 cm; size at birth 33 to 45 cm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A common coastal shark on the continental and insular shelves, from the
surf line and intertidal to a depth of 40 m, usually in shallow water. Viviparous, number of young 1 or 2.
Feeds on small fish (including sea horses), prawns, and squid. Not known to be dangerous to people.
Commonly caught by artisanal and smallscale commercial fisheries as well as sport anglers fishing from
the shore. Commonly fished with line gear and gill nets and utilized for human consumption.
Distribution: Known from
South Africa northward to
Kenya, Madagascar, the
Seychelles, Mauritius, and
the southwest coast of India;
in the eastern Indian Ocean
and western Pacific eastward
to China, the Philippines, and
New Guinea.