Country Species Summary

Carcharhinus leucas in Benin
Bull shark

Carcharhinus leucas (Müller & Henle, 1839)
Family:	Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks)	picture (Caleu_u6.jpg) by JJPhoto
Order:	Carcharhiniformes (ground sharks)
Class:	Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays)
FishBase name:	Bull shark
Max. size:	350 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 30573); max. published weight: 316.5 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 32 years
Environment:	reef-associated; amphidromous ; depth range 1 - 152 m
Climate:	subtropical; 42°N - 39°S
Global Importance:	fisheries: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums
Resilience:	Very low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.04-0.08; tm=6-18; tmax=28)
Distribution:	Widespread in warm oceans, rivers and lakes. Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA to Argentina (Ref 58839). Eastern Atlantic: Morocco, Senegal to Angola. Indo-Pacific: Kenya and South Africa to India, then, Viet Nam to Australia; southern Baja California, Mexico to Ecuador and possibly occurring in Peru. Sympatric with Carcharhinus amboinensis, Glyphis gangeticus.
Diagnosis:	Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Anal spines: 0-0. A massive shark with a short, broad and blunt snout, small eyes and triangular saw-edged upper teeth; and lack of interdorsal ridge are sufficient to distinguish this species (Ref. 26938). 1st dorsal fin broad and triangular and less than 3.2 times height of 2nd dorsal fin; no interdorsal ridge (Ref. 5578). Grayish above, white below (Ref. 5578); fins with dark tips, especially in young individuals (Ref. 9997).
Biology:	A coastal and freshwater shark inhabiting shallow waters especially in bays, estuaries, rivers, and lakes. Readily penetrates far up rivers and hypersaline bays (Ref. 9997, 44894). Capable of covering great distances (up to 180 kilometers in 24 hours), moving between fresh and brackish water at random (Ref. 44894). Adults often found near estuaries and freshwater inflows to the sea. Young enter rivers and may be found hundreds of km from the sea (Ref. 4967, 44894). Feeds on bony fishes, other sharks, rays, mantis shrimps, crabs, squid, sea snails, sea urchins, mammalian carrion, sea turtles, and occasionally garbage (Ref. 244, 5578, 44894). Very hardy and lives well in captivity, probably the most dangerous species of tropical shark (Ref. 244), it is repeatedly implicated in attacks on humans (Ref. 4967, 44894). Attacks in fresh water are rare (Ref. 44894). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Gives birth to litters of up to 13 young (Ref. 26938, 44894). Sexual maturity is attained after 10-15 years (at a length between 160-200 centimeters) (Ref. 44894). Utilized fresh, fresh-frozen or smoked for human consumption, fins for soup, hide for leather, liver for oil, and carcass for fishmeal (Ref. 244)
Threatened:	, (Ref. 36508)
Dangerous:	traumatogenic , Halstead, B.W., P.S. Auerbach and D.R. Campbell. 1990
Coordinator:	Compagno, Leonard J.V.
Main Ref:	Compagno, L.J.V.. 1984. (Ref. 244)
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Benin country information
Common names:	Ehouatagbo	Ref: Zannou, L.H., 1985
Status:	native	Ref:
Salinity:	freshwater, brackish, marine
Uses:	no uses
Country Information:	www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bn.html
Occurrences:	Occurrences Point map
Main Ref:	Compagno, L.J.V., 1984
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Entered: Carpenter, Kent E.

CGNET - US

Page created by: Eli, 20.10.03, last modified by Eli, 26.06.07

	Ref.:		Glossary
		(e.g. 9948)		(e.g. cephalopods)
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