Snaggletooth shark

The snaggletooth shark, Hemipristis elongatus, is a weasel shark of the family Hemigaleidae, the only member of the genus Hemipristis, found in the Indo-West Pacific oceans including the Red Sea, from southeast Africa to the Philippines, north to China, and south to Australia, at depths of from 1 to 130 m. Its length is up to 2.4 m (8 ft) and it can weigh up to about 250 kg.

The snaggletooth shark is a slender species with a long, broadly rounded snout, large curved, saw-edged teeth in the upper jaw, and hooked lower teeth protruding from its mouth. The gill slits are long, and the fins are strongly curved. It is a coastal species, found inshore and offshore on the continental and insular shelves, feeding on sharks, rays, bony fishes, and cephalopods. It is thought to be potentially dangerous because of its large, fearsome teeth and shallow-water habitat, but has not been recorded in an attack on people. It is regularly taken in artisanal fisheries, utilized fresh for human consumption, the liver being processed for vitamins, the fins used in the oriental shark fin trade, and by-products processed into fishmeal. Most adults are below 2 m.

Teeth

Because this shark was poorly studied in the past and its top and bottom jaw teeth differ to such a great degree, its top and lower jaw teeth were assigned to a separate genus in the past.

Its teeth are highly prized by collectors because they are often found in sediments in Southern Florida that yield extremely colorful fossil shark teeth. Their outstandingly large serrations make it a favorite collectible.

Species

• Known species include:
• Hemipristis elongatus
• Hemipristis curvatus
• Hemipristis serra

Coloration

Coloration is light grey or bronzy with no prominent markings.

Reproduction

Reproduction is viviparous.

References