Carcharhinus sorrah ( Valenciennes, 1839 )

Carcharhinus sorrah ( Valenciennes, 1839) View in CoL

IUCN standard name :: Spottail Shark Fig. 8 View Figure 8 , Table 1 View Table 1

Material examined.

UPVMI 3121, 582 mm TL, female, fish landing site, Roxas City, Capiz Province, Philippines, longline, 25 May 2021, coll. M. Batay.

Morphological description.

Body moderately stout and spindle shaped. Eyes moderately large and rounded. Snout long and rounded. Mouth short and transversely curved. Nostrils narrow; nasal flaps short. Teeth on both jaws sharp with strongly serrated cusps. First dorsal fin moderately large, originating behind pectoral free rear tip; apex rounded; posterior margin concave; free rear tip long; second dorsal fin very short and small, originating over anal-fin base; free rear tip long. Anal fin small and short, rounded apex; posterior margin concave; free rear tip long. Pectoral fin moderately large, falcate; apex narrow and rounded; posterior margin concave. Pelvic fin moderately small; anterior margin straight. Caudal fin long and smooth; posterior tip of upper caudal-fin lobe narrow; posterior margin of upper lobe concave; ventral notch deep; lower caudal-fin lobe short and triangular; posterior tip of lower lobe rounded. Interdorsal-fin ridge present. Precaudal pits transverse. Gill slits short, with five slits on both sides.

Color of fresh specimen. Body and head gray dorsally; white ventrally. Second dorsal fin, pectoral fins, and lower caudal-fin lobe with conspicuous black tips. First dorsal fin and upper caudal-fin lobe with black margins. Pelvic fins and upper caudal-fin lobe plain color. Posterior margin along apex of anal fin with black margins.

Color of preserved specimen. Body and head gray dorsally; white ventrally. Conspicuous spots, and black edges on fins still distinct.

Distribution.

Found in Indo – Pacific Region including western central Pacific from China southward to Indonesia, Philippines, and Australia ( Compagno and Niem 1998 c; this study), also in Western Indian Ocean: Persian Gulf, Red Sea to South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal), Madagascar, Seychelles, Mascarenes, and Maldives ( Winton and Ebert 2022).

DNA barcode.

The COI sequence of 617 bp was submitted to GenBank with accession number OR 614467.

Conservation status.

Near Threatened

Remarks.

Carcharhinus sorrah can grow to a maximum total length of 1600 mm ( Allen and Erdmann 2012). This species is commonly found in coastal areas, including continental and insular shelves, both near the shore and at depths of up to 140 m ( Compagno and Niem 1998 c), as well as in coral reef environments from 1 to 73 m deep ( Allen and Erdmann 2012). There have been reports of its presence in Philippine waters, specifically in Cavite, Cebu, Manila Bay, Negros Occidental (Cadiz City, and Sagay), and Palawan ( Compagno et al. 2005; Gonzales 2013; Aquino et al. 2023). The specimen was identified as C. sorrah based on the presence of an interdorsal ridge between the dorsal-fin bases, a long and parabolic-shaped snout, strongly black-tipped fins (second dorsal, pectoral, and lower caudal fins), and an extremely low second dorsal fin with a long, attenuated rear tip (second dorsal-fin height 3 % TL vs. first dorsal-fin height 13 % TL, see Table 1 View Table 1 ). These features are consistent with the descriptions provided by Compagno and Niem (1998 c), and Choi et al. (1998). Additionally, COI barcoding confirms its identification as it forms a single clade with other sequences of C. sorrah (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ).