Speartooth Shark, Glyphis glyphis (Müller & Henle 1839)


Other Names: Bizant River Shark, Speartooth Shark

Speartooth Shark, Glyphis glyphis. Source: Richard Pillans / CSIRO. License: All rights reserved

Summary:

A rare greyish whaler shark with the line between the white and grey body coloration running along the lower edge of the eye, and a black blotch on the underside of pectoral-fin tip.

Video of Speartooth Sharks collected by the team at Cairns Marine under a special permit, for a strategic captive breeding program at the Melbourne Aquarium. 

Video of Speartooth Sharks in the Melbourne Aquarium. These sharks were collected under special permit by Cairns Marine for a captive breeding program at the Aquarium.


Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2017, Glyphis glyphis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2734

Speartooth Shark, Glyphis glyphis (Müller & Henle 1839)

More Info


Distribution

Adelaide and Alligator Rivers, NT, and Wenlock and Bizant River, QLD, and probably others rivers of Gulf of Carpentaria and eastern Queensland. The species also occurs in the Western Province, Papua New Guinea, and elsewhere in the tropical, west Pacific.

Features

First dorsal fin broad, triangular; second dorsal fin relatively large, about three-quarters the height of the first dorsal fin, about equal to anal fin; snout short, broadly rounded; upper jaw teeth broadly triangular, erect and serrated, with no cusps. 

Feeding

Carnivore - feeds on bony fishes and crustaceans.

Conservation

  • EPBC Act 1999 : Critically Endangered
  • IUCN Red List : Endangered
  • Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2000 : Vulnerable
  • Protected throughout Queensland
  • Similar Species

    Although Speartooth Sharks appear similar to the Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas, they differ in having a more triangular-shaped first dorsal fin, a taller second dorsal fin (about 2/3 the height of the first dorsal fin), a small eye situated within the grey-colored part of the head, not in the lower whte part, and triangular upper jaw teeth without cusps, but with “shoulders”. The Bull Shark is also a yellowish-grey, whereas the Speartooth Shark is steely grey in colour.

    Author

    Bray, D.J. 2017

    Speartooth Shark, Glyphis glyphis (Müller & Henle 1839)

    References


    • Agassiz, J.L.R. 1843. Recherches Berra, T.M. 2010. Clarification of field characters for three freshwater sharks and a photographic atlas of Glyphis glyphis and G. garricki from Adelaide River, Northern Territory, Australia. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 26: 109–114.
    • Chen X, Liu M, Grewe PM, Kyne PM, Feutry P (2014) Complete mitochondrial genome of the critically endangered Speartooth Shark Glyphis glyphis (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae). Mitochondrial DNA. 25 (6): 431-432. 10.3109/19401736.2013.809443.
    • 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. FAO Fish. Synop. No. 125, vol. 4.
    • Compagno, L.J.V. 2002. Freshwater and estuarine elasmobranch surveys in the Indo-Pacific region: threats, distribution and speciation. In S.L. Fowler, T.M. Reed & F.A. Dipper (eds), Elasmobranch Biodiversity, Conservation and Management; Proceedings of the International Seminar and Workshop. Sabah, Malaysia.
    • 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.
    • 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., Pogonoski, J. & Pollard, D. 2009. Glyphis glyphis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 02 September 2012.
    • Compagno, L.J.V., White, W.T. & Last, P.R. 2008. Glyphis garricki sp. nov., a new species of river shark (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae) from northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, with a redescription of Glyphis glyphis (Müller & Henle, 1839). 203–226 in Last, P.R., White, W.T. & Pogonoski, J.J. (eds). Descriptions of new Australian chondrichthyans. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper  No. 022: 1-358
    • Feutry P., Kyne P.M., Pillans R.D., Chen X., Naylor G.J.P. & Grewe P.M. 2014. Mitogenomics of the Speartooth Shark challenges ten years of control region sequencing. BMC Evolutionary Biology 14: 232. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-014-0232-x Open access
    • 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.
    • Kyne, P. M. & Feutry, P. 2017. Recreational fishing impacts on threatened river sharks: A potential conservation issue. Ecological Management and Restoration doi:10.1111/emr.12266 Open access
    • Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls.
    • Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp.
    • Li, C., S. Corrigan, L. Yang, N. Straube, M. Harris, M. Hofreiterd, W.T. White & G.J.P. Naylor. 2015. DNA capture reveals transoceanic gene flow in endangered river sharks. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1508735112 Abstract
    • Lucifora L.O., de Carvalho M.R., Kyne P.M. & White W.T. (2015) Freshwater sharks and rays. Current Biology 25: R971–R973.
    • Lyon BJ, Dwyer RG, Pillans RD, Campbell HA, Franklin CE (2017) Distribution, seasonal movements and habitat utilisation of an endangered shark, Glyphis glyphis, from northern Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 573:203-213. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12200 Abstract
    • Müller, J. & Henle, F.G.J. 1839. Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen. Berlin : Veit & Co pp. 29-102 pls.
    • Peverell, S.C., McPherson, G.R., Garrett, R.N. & Gribble, N.A. 2006. New records of the river shark Glyphis (Carcharhinidae) reported from Cape York Peninsula, northern Australia. Zootaxa 1233: 53–68
    • Pillans RD, Stevens JD, Kyne PM, Salini J (2009) Observations on the distribution, biology, short-term movements and habitat requirements of river sharks Glyphis spp. in northern Australia. Endanger Species Res. 10: 321-332. 10.3354/esr00206.
    • Pogonoski, J.J., Pollard, D.A. and Paxton, J.R. 2002. Conservation overview and action plan for Australian threatened and potentially threatened marine and estuarine fishes. Environment Australia, Canberra, Australia.
    • Roberts, T.R. 2007. A new record for the speartooth carcharhinid shark Glyphis glyphis from Pulo Condor, South China Sea. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 54(2): 279–283
    • Stevens, J.D., R.D. Pillans & J. Salini. 2005. Conservation assessment of Glyphis sp. A (speartooth shark), Glyphis sp. C (northern river shark), Pristis microdon (freshwater sawfish) and Pristis zijsron (green sawfish). Version 2. Final Report for the Department of the Environment and Heritage
    • Taniuchi, T.T., Shimizu, M., Sano, M., Baba, O. & Last, P.R. 1991. Descriptions of freshwater elasmobranchs collected from three rivers in northern Australia. The University Museum, Nature and Culture 3, Tokyo, Japan.
    • White WT, Appleyard SA, Sabub B, Kyne PM, Harris M, Lis R, et al. (2015) Rediscovery of the Threatened River Sharks, Glyphis garricki and G. glyphis, in Papua New Guinea. PLoS ONE 10(10): e0140075. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140075 PDF Open access
    • Wynen L, Larson H, Thorburn D, Peverell S, Morgan D, Field I, Gibb K. (2009) Mitochondrial DNA supports the identification of two endangered river sharks (Glyphis glyphis and Glyphis garricki) across northern Australia. Mar Freshw Res. 60(6): 554-562. 10.1071/MF08201.

    Quick Facts


    CAAB Code:37018041

    Conservation:IUCN Endangered; EPBC Critically Endangered

    Depth:0-10 m

    Habitat:Inshore - marine, estuarine, freshwater

    Max Size:300 cm TL

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    Species Maps

    CAAB distribution map