Common names
Tiburón aletón, Requin grandes ailes, Broadfin shark, Fawn shark

Short Description
Diagnosis after AKHILESH, WHITE, BINEESH, PURUSHOTTAMA, SINGH & ZACHARIA, 2016 [24528]: A medium-sized carcharhinid shark with moderately stout body; moderately long and bluntly pointed snout, preorbital length 7.8–9.8 % TL. Dorsal fins almost of similar size, not falcate; interdorsal space 18.2–19.4% TL. First dorsal fin slightly larger, length 13.4–15.1% TL, height 5.8–8.3% TL, subtriangular (with a narrowly rounded apex in juveniles), posterior margins nearly straight to shallowly concave and its free rear tip reaching just anterior to pelvic-fin origin. Second dorsal fin almost as high as first, subtriangular, length 11.2–12.1% TL, height 5.2–7.1% TL, 82–92% of first dorsal-fin height. Pectoral fin moderately long, 12.5–15.5% TL and not falcate, anterior margins weakly convex; pelvic fin moderately long 9.8–11.5% TL; anal-fin height 3.8–6.0% TL. No dermal ridge between dorsal fins, and no keels on caudal peduncle. Upper anterior teeth subtriangular (almost cordiform), evenly serrated. Lower anterior teeth long, narrow, erect, with entirely smooth cutting edge; tooth row counts 40–44/40–44. Fins without any prominent markings in adults.

Distribution
Indian Ocean and West Pacific: Pakistan, India, Burma, Indonesia (Makassar Straits), Sarawak, and China [24529]. Source: www.gbif.org

Human uses
fisheries: commercial

Biology
Viviparous, placental [733], with 4 to 8 young per litter [517]. Gestation period of ~ 8 months [2539]. Size at birth between 40 and 60 cm [517]. Distinct pairing with embrace [17086]. A little-known shark found in coastal, inshore waters.

Feeds mainly on crustaceans (Oratosquilla sp, crabs, prawns, Nematopalaemon tenuipes, P. sculptilis), Cephalopods (Loligo spp, Octopus), fin fishes (e.g. Johnius spp, Decapterus spp, Platax spp, Cynoglossus spp, Coilia spp, Trichiurus sp.) [24528]

Size / Weight / Age
418–1782 mm TL with pregnant females observed over 1500 mm TL (male/unsexed; [24528])

Habitat
demersal; amphidromous [17660]; brackish; marine; depth range 50 - ? m

Dentition
Teeth in upper jaw with high, cordiform in shape (tapering just below basal ledge), erect to semi oblique, serrated cusps and no cusplets; distal and mesial shoulders very pronounced; lateral and posterior teeth relatively straight with mesial margins slightly angular; serrations on cusps evenly distributed, not distinctly/slightly coarser basally; usually 5–7 rows of posterior molariform teeth. Teeth in lower jaw long with erect, high, entirely smoothedged narrow cusps and no cusplets. Teeth count 40–44/40–44. Sexual dimorphism in dentition not evident. [24528]

Remarks
shark-references Species-ID=3380;

Parasites (arranged by Jürgen Pollerspöck)
Cestoda

• Cathetocephalus thatcheri Dailey & Overstreet, 1973 [16908]
• Nybelinia africana Dollfus, 1960 [15747]
• Otobothrium carcharidis (Shipley & Hornell, 1906) [24083]
• Otobothrium crenacolle Linton, 1890 [24083]
• Pseudotobothrium arii (Bilqees & Shaukat, 1976) [15747]
• Sanguilevator yearsleyi Caira, Mega & Ruhnke, 2005 [16273] [16908]