Rhizoprionodon acutus, Milk shark : fisheries, gamefish

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Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837)

Milk shark
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Rhizoprionodon acutus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Classification / Names Nomi Comuni | Sinonimi | Catalog of Fishes(Genere, Specie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchi (squali e razze) (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks)
Etymology: Rhizoprionodon: rhiza (Gr.), root; prion (Gr.) saw; odon (Gr.), tooth, referring to teeth with serrated (saw-like) bases, or roots [replacement name for Rhizoprion Ogilby 1915, preoccupied by Rhizoprion Jourdan 1861 in mammals] (See ETYFish)acutus: Latin for sharp or pointed, probably referring to narrow, pointed snout (See ETYFish).
More on author: Rüppell.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / distribuzione batimetrica / distribution range Ecologia

marino; acqua dolce; salmastro benthopelagico; amfidromo (Ref. 51243); distribuzione batimetrica 1 - 200 m (Ref. 244). Tropical; 41°N - 30°S, 27°W - 156°E

Distribuzione Stati | Aree FAO | Ecosystems | Presenze | Mappa dei ritrovamenti | Introduzioni | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: Madeira and Mauritania to Angola (Ref. 244). Indo-West Pacific: Persian Gulf (Ref. 68964), Red Sea and East Africa to Indonesia, north to Japan, south to Australia. Also reported from Gulf of Taranto in Mediterranean Sea (Ref. 231).

Length at first maturity / Size / Peso / Age

Maturità: Lm 75.0, range 70 - 80 cm
Max length : 175 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 12693); 80.8 cm TL (female); common length : 110 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 47737); peso massimo pubblicato: 5.0 kg (Ref. 132927); Età massima riportata: 8 anni (Ref. 244)

Short description Chiavi di identificazione | Morfologia | Morfometria

Spine dorsali (totale) : 0; Spine anali: 0. A small shark with a long, narrow, snout, big eyes without notches, long labial furrows, and oblique-cusped teeth which may be smooth-edged or weakly serrated; 2nd dorsal fin small, low and behind larger anal fin; no interdorsal ridge (Ref. 5578). Grey or grey-brown above, white below (Ref. 5578). Dorsal and anal fins with dusky or blackish edges, fins slightly darker than back (Ref. 9997).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.

Biologia     Glossario (es. epibenthic)

Found on continental shelves, often on sandy beaches and rarely in estuaries (Ref. 244). Reported to enter freshwater and recorded several times from Cambodia as far upstream as the Great Lake (Ref. 12693). Occurs near the surface in shallow waters (Ref. 12693). Feeds mainly on small pelagic and benthic bony fishes, also cephalopods and other invertebrates (Ref. 244). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Utilized fresh and possibly dried salted for human consumption and for fishmeal (Ref. 9997). The 178 cm specimen recorded off Africa is possibly based on some other species (Ref. 9997).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturità | Riproduzione | Deposizione | Uova | Fecundity | Larve

Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205). Viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta; 2 to 8 in a litter (Ref. 9997), usually 2 to 5 after a gestation period of ~ 12 months; no seasonality in the reproductive cycle (Ref.58048). Size at birth between 25 and 39 cm.

Main reference Upload your references | Bibliografia | Coordinatore : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaboratori

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd); Date assessed: 04 February 2020

CITES


CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 244)





Human uses

Pesca: commerciale; Pesce da pesca sportiva: si
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Informazioni ulteriori

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Alimentazione
Consumo di cibo
Food rations
Predatori
Ecologia
Ecologia
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Reclutamento
Abbondanza
Life cycle
Riproduzione
Maturità
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Deposizione
Spawning aggregations
Uova
Egg development
Larve
Dinamica popolazioni larvali
Distribuzione
Stati
Aree FAO
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Presenze
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Anatomy
Area branchiale
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Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetica
Genome
Genetica
Heterozygosity
Ereditarietà
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Profili di acquacoltura
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Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
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Bibliografia
Bibliografia

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Fonte Biblio. 123201): 19.6 - 28.5, mean 26.9 °C (based on 1463 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Fonte Biblio. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5078   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00347 (0.00280 - 0.00429), b=3.07 (3.03 - 3.11), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Fonte Biblio. 69278):  4.3   ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 5.5 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilienza (Fonte Biblio. 120179):  Molto basso, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione più di 14 anni (K=0.2-0.6; Fec=1).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (61 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 16.4 [2.3, 90.2] mg/100g; Iron = 0.575 [0.146, 1.652] mg/100g; Protein = 21.2 [18.2, 23.5] %; Omega3 = 0.198 [0.082, 0.472] g/100g; Selenium = 58 [16, 171] μg/100g; VitaminA = 20.7 [7.9, 53.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.698 [0.324, 1.318] mg/100g (wet weight);