School shark
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| Galeorhinus galeus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The school shark, tope shark, soupfin shark or snapper shark, Galeorhinus galeus, is a hound shark of the family Triakidae, the only member of the genus Galeorhinus, found worldwide in subtropical seas at depths of up to 550 m. It grows to 2 m long.
The school shark has a long, pointed snout, a large mouth, and small blade-like teeth. The second dorsal fin is about as large as the anal fin and the terminal caudal fin lobe is as long as the rest of the fin. It is greyish above, white below, and the young have black markings on their fins.
It is mainly demersal on continental and insular shelves, but is also found on the upper slopes, at depths from near shore to 550 m. It has been shown to be pelagic in the open ocean (frequently caught on floating tuna longlines over deep water, and many New Zealand-tagged specimens have been recaptured in Australia). The school shark occurs in small schools that are highly migratory in higher latitudes in their range. There is pronounced partial segregation by size and sex in some areas.
It feeds on fishes (bottom as well as pelagic species), crustaceans, cephalopods, worms, and echinoderms.
Reproduction is ovoviviparous.
Its meat is excellent for human consumption, liver for squalene oil, fins for soup; also utilized as fishmeal. Marketed fresh, dried-salted, and frozen.
Adapts well in captivity if carefully captured and handled.
[edit] References
- Walker et al (2005). Galeorhinus galeus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a lengthy justification of why this species is vulnerable
- Galeorhinus galeus (TSN 160181). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 23 January 2006.
- "Galeorhinus galeus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. 10 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
