Carcharhinus tjutjot

Elasmobranchii Carcharhinidae Genus Carcharhinus Carcharhinus tjutjot

Indonesian whaler shark

Characteristic features:

Colour:

Dors tips mostly dusky in juveniles, plain in adults. Ventral surfaces paler.

Size:

Maximum size at least 100 cm TL; birth size 28–38 cm TL.

Distribution:

Found throughout the tropical Indo-West Pacific.

Habitat:

Mostly demersal inshore down to about 170 m depth.

Biology:

Feeds primarily on fish, but also on crustaceans and cephalopods. Both sexes are mature by 75 cm TL. Reproductive mode is viviparous with yolk sac placenta; gestation period is unknown before giving birth to a litter of 1–4 (usually 2) pups. there is no distinct seasonal reproductive cycle apparent, instead continuously breeding with most mature females pregnant or spent at any one time.

Indonesian fisheries:

Commonly caught by bottom trawl and inshore demersal gillnet fisheries. Utilised for its fins and meat but of limited value due to its size.

Similar species:

Carcharhinus sealei
Blackspot shark

Carcharhinus sealei differs in having a strongly falcate first dorsal fin (vs. not falcate); snout narrowly parabolic (vs. broadly parabolic); upper teeth flanked on one side by strong smooth-edged cusplets (vs. flanked on one side by strong, serrated cusplets) and lower teeth often with cusplets (vs. no cusplets).

to Carcharhinus sealei

External links:

FishBase