Pigeye Shark, Carcharhinus amboinensis (Müller & Henle 1839)


Other Names: Estuary Shark, Java Shark, Pig-eyed Shark

Pigeye Shark, Carcharhinus amboinensis. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
A large, robust greyish shark with a whitish belly, dusky fin tips, a short, blunt snout, and a tall, erect first dorsal fin that is more than three times the height of the second dorsal fin.

Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Carcharhinus amboinensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 26 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2882

Pigeye Shark, Carcharhinus amboinensis (Müller & Henle 1839)

More Info


Distribution

Carnarvon, WA to Moreton Bay, QLD. The species occurs elsewhere in the tropical, east-Atlantic-Indo-west Pacific. Inhabits coastal waters, usually near the bottom, occasionally entering estuaries.
The Pigeye Shark is frequently confused with the Bull Shark, C. leucas.

Feeding

Feeds on pelagic and demersal bony fishes, sharks and rays, squid, shrimps, cuttlefish, octopus, lobsters, gastropods and mammalian carrion.

Biology

Males have a life span of 26 years; female life span is 30 years.

Similar Species

Although the Pigeye Shark is often confused with the Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas, due to its short, blunt snout and dark markings, they can be readily distinguished. The first dorsal fin of the Pigeye Shark is tall and erect, and is more than three times the height of the second dorsal fin. The Pigeye Shark also has a smaller eye than the Bull Shark.

Species Citation

Carcharias (Prionodon) amboinensis Müller & Henle 1839, Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen: 40, pl. 9. Type locality: Ambon, Indonesia.

Author

Dianne J. Bray

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Pigeye Shark, Carcharhinus amboinensis (Müller & Henle 1839)

References


Allen, G.R. 1982. Inland Fishes of Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 86 pp. 6 figs 20 pls.

Cliff, G. 2009. Carcharhinus amboinensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T39366A10217585. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T39366A10217585.en. Downloaded on 26 August 2016.

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125. Rome : FAO Vol. 4(2) 251-655 pp. 

Compagno, L.J.V., Dando, M. & Fowler, S. 2005. A Field Guide to the Sharks of the World. London : Collins 368 pp. 

Compagno, L.J.V. & Niem, V.H. 1998. Family Carcharhinidae. pp. 1312-1360 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 2 687-1396 pp.

Fowler, S.L., Cavanagh, R.D., Camhi, M., Burgess, G.H., Cailliet, G.M., Fordham, S.V., Simpfendorfer, C.A. & Musick, J.A. (comps and eds) 2005. Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras: The Status of the Chondrichthyan Fishes. Status Survey. pp. x + 461. IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Garman, S. 1913. The Plagiostomia (sharks, skates and rays). Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University 36: 1-528 pls 1-77

Garrick, J.A.F. 1982. Sharks of the genus Carcharhinus. National Marine Fisheries Service (U.S.). Technical Report 445: 1-194 figs 1-83 

Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled Fishes of Southern Indonesia and Northwest Australia. Jakarta : Dir. Gen. Fish. (Indonesia), German Tech. Coop., Aust. Dev. Ass. Bur. 406 pp.

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)

Knip, D.M., Heupel, M.R., Simpfendorfer, C.A., Tobin, A.J. & Moloney, J. 2011. Ontogenetic shifts in movement and habitat use of juvenile pigeye sharks Carcharhinus amboinensis in a tropical nearshore region. Marine Ecology Progress Series 425: 233–246. doi:10.3354/meps09006. PDF Open access

Knip, D.M., Heupel, M.R., Simpfendorfer, C.A., Tobin, A.J. & Moloney, J. 2011. Wet-season effects on the distribution of juvenile pigeye sharks, Carcharhinus amboinensis, in tropical nearshore waters. Marine and Freshwater Research 62 (6): 658–667. doi:10.1071/MF10136. Abstract

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Knip, D.M., Heupel, M.R. & Simpfendorfer, C.A. 2012. Evaluating marine protected areas for the conservation of tropical coastal sharks. Biological Conservation 148 (1): 200–209. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.01.008 Abstract

Kyne, P.M., Johnson, J.W., Courtney, A.J. & Bennett, M.B. 2005. New biogeographical information on Queensland chrondrichthyans. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 50(2): 321-327. 

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McLoughlin, K., Slack-Smith, R. & Stevens, J. 1994. Northern shark. In: K. McLoughlin, D. Staples & M. Maliel (eds) Fishery Status Reports 1993 – Resource Assessments of Australian Commonwealth Fisheries, pp. 31–36. Bureau of Resource Sciences, Canberra, Australia.

Müller, J. & Henle, F.G.J. 1839. Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen. Berlin : Veit & Co pp. 29-102 pls. 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs. 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

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Taylor, S.M., Johnson, J.W. & Bennett, M.B. 2015. Spatial gradient in the distribution of whaler sharks (Caracharhinidae) in Moreton Bay, southeastern Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature 59 http://dx.doi.org/10.17082/j.2204-1478.59.2015.2014-08

Tillett, B.J., Meekan, M.G., Broderick, D., Field, I.C., Cliff, G. & Ovenden, J.R. 2012. Pleistocene isolation, secondary introgression and restricted contemporary gene flow in the pig-eye shark, Carcharhinus amboinensis across northern Australia. Conservation Genetics 13(1): 99–115. doi:10.1007/s10592-011-0268-z PDF Open access

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Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37018026

Conservation:IUCN Data Deficient

Depth:surface to 100 m

Habitat:Coastal marine, estuaries

Max Size:280 cm TL

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map