Galeorhinus galeus, Tope shark : fisheries, gamefish, aquarium

Galeorhinus galeus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tope shark
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Galeorhinus galeus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Galeorhinus galeus
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Triakidae (Houndsharks) > Galeorhininae
Etymology: Galeorhinus: galeo, probably based on G. galeus (see below); rhinus, an ancient name for sharks, from rhine (Gr.), rasp, alluding to their rasp-like skin (See ETYFish); galeus: From galeos, a small shark or dogfish per Aristotle (sometimes translated as weasel), possibly referring to the pointed snouts, swift movements and/or rapacious feeding behavior of smaller predatory sharks1 (See ETYFish).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 1100 m (Ref. 26346), usually 2 - 471 m (Ref. 43939). Subtropical; 70°N - 58°S, 111°E - 37°E

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

World-wide in cold to warm temperate waters.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 144.1, range 120 - 185 cm
Max length : 193 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); 195.0 cm TL (female); common length : 160 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9258); max. published weight: 44.7 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 55 years (Ref. 6871)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. A large houndshark with a long, pointed snout, a large mouth, and small blade-like teeth; 2nd dorsal about as large as anal fin and terminal caudal lobe as long as rest of fin (Ref. 5578). Greyish above, white below; young with black markings on fins (Ref. 5578).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Mainly demersal on continental and insular shelves, but also on the upper slopes, at depths from near shore to 550 m (Ref. 6871), but 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) (Ref. 26346). Occurs in small schools that are highly migratory in higher latitudes in their range (Ref. 244). There is pronounced partial segregation by size and sex in some areas (Ref. 244). Feeds on fishes (bottom as well as pelagic species, Ref. 26346), crustaceans, cephalopods, worms, and echinoderms (Ref. 244). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Targeted for human consumption, liver for squalene oil, fins for soup (Ref. 244); also utilized as fishmeal (Ref. 13563). Marketed fresh, dried-salted, and frozen (Ref. 9987). Adapts well in captivity if carefully captured and handled (Ref. 12951).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Ovoviviparous, without a yolk-sac placenta (Ref. 244). Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). 6 to 52 young in a litter (Ref. 26346). Litter size increases with the size of the mother. Embryos reach 30-36 cm TL at birth (Ref. 6080). In the southern waters of Australia, newly born and older juveniles (30-70 cm long) aggregate in 'nursery areas' found in shallow waters.They move to deeper coastal waters to over-winter. The following spring finds most of these young returning to their nursery areas. The older ones, aged 2 years and over move instead to eastern Bass Strait where most of the immature stock are found. The length of an average full-term embryo is 32 cm. Spawning frequency is once every year, ovulation occurring in early summer and parturition is completed by January of the following year. Gestation period lasts for about 12 months (Ref. 6390, 6871).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

  Critically Endangered (CR) (A2bd); Date assessed: 14 February 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Appendix II: Migratory species conserved through agreements

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 13563)





Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OceanAdapt | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |