Sliteye shark

Taxobox
name = Sliteye shark


status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Chondrichthyes
subclassis = Elasmobranchii
ordo = Carcharhiniformes
familia = Carcharhinidae
genus = "Loxodon"
species = "L. macrorhinus"
binomial = "Loxodon macrorhinus"
binomial_authority = Müller & Henle, 1839

The sliteye shark, "Loxodon macrorhinus", the only member of the genus "Loxodon", is a shark of the family Carcharhinidae, found in the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific oceans between latitudes 34° N and 30° S, from depths of 7 to 100 m. Its length is up to about 95 cm.

The sliteye shark is a small, very slim shark with a long, narrow snout, big eyes with rear notches, short labial furrows, and small, oblique-cusped teeth with smooth edges. The second dorsal fin is small, low and behind the larger anal fin. It is found on continental and insular shelves, mainly near the bottom. It feeds on small bony fishes, shrimps and cuttlefish. It is viviparous.

The flesh is utilized fresh for human consumption.

Coloration is grey above, pale below, fins with pale edges (transparent in life), caudal and first dorsal fins with narrow dark margins, and the first dorsal fin also with a dusky tip.

References

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