Sri Lanka country information

Common names: Bala maora, Honda mora, Silky shark
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: commercial | Ref: FAO, 1992
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Annual shark production of the country is 8,000-9,000 (6% of total fish output), where over half of the catch is of silky shark, now targeted by oceanic tuna fisheries (because shark meat is more profitable than tuna) (IUCN Shark Specialist Group, Nov. 1998).
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ce.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Compagno, L.J.V., 1984
National Database:

Classification / Names

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Requin soyeux, Tiburón jaquetón, Blackspot shark, ... more

Main reference

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. (Ref. 244)
References | Biblio | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 350 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9997); common length : 250 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9997); max. published weight: 346.0 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 25 years (Ref. 31395)

Length at first maturity
L_m 228.0, range 202 - 260 cm

Environment

Marine; reef-associated; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 4000 m (Ref. 55180), usually 0 - 500 m (Ref. 6871)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 23°C - 24°C (Ref. 244), preferred 27°C (Ref. 107945); 42°N - 43°S, 169°W - 180°E (Ref. 55180)

Distribution

Circumtropical. Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea to Uruguay (Ref. 58839). Eastern Atlantic: Spain, Madeira to northern Angola; St. Paul's Rocks (Ref. 13121); Cape Verde (Ref. 34514). Indo-Pacific: scattered records from the Red Sea and Natal, South Africa (Ref. 5578) to China, New Zealand, and the Caroline, Hawaiian, Phoenix and Line islands. Eastern Pacific: southern Baja California, Mexico to northern Chile. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. A large, slim shark with a moderately long, flat and rounded snout, large eyes, small jaws, and oblique-cusped teeth with serrations; 2nd dorsal fin low and with greatly elongated rear tip (Ref. 5578). Grey or bluish-grey above, white below; no conspicuous fin markings (Ref. 5578). Only Carcharhinus species with an interdorsal ridge that has the dorsal fin origin behind the free rear tip of the pectoral fin (Ref. 26938).

Found abundantly near the edge of continental and insular shelves, but also in the open sea and occasionally inshore (Ref. 244). Often found in deepwater reefs and near insular slopes (Ref. 244). Littoral and epipelagic, in the open sea or near the bottom at 18-500 m (Ref. 58302). It is quick-moving and aggressive (Ref. 244). Solitary (Ref. 26340); often associated with schools of tuna (Ref. 244). Feeds mainly on fishes, but also squid, paper nautiluses, and pelagic crabs (Ref. 244; 37816). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Regarded as dangerous to humans (Ref. 9997). Flesh utilized fresh and dried-salted for human consumption; its hide for leather; its fin for shark-fin soup; its liver for oil (Ref. 244). 2 to 14 young, 73 to 87 cm, are born per litter (Ref. 1602).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Near Threatened (NT)

Threat to humans

Traumatogenic (Ref. 9997)

Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
4.5 ±0.0 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (rm=0.054; K=0.05-0.15; tm=6-10; tmax=25; Fec=2-14)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Very high vulnerability (79 of 100)

Price category (Ref. 80766)
High

Carcharhinus falciformis (Müller & Henle, 1839)