Hemigaleidae
Sign in to saveThe weasel sharks are a family, the Hemigaleidae, of ground sharks found from the eastern Atlantic Ocean to the continental Indo-Pacific. They are found in shallow coastal waters to a depth of .
Species
weasel sharks
FAMILY
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassElasmobranchii
- OrderCarcharhiniformes
- FamilyHemigaleidae
via GBIF
Wikidata facts
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- Hemigaleus australiensis csiro-nfc.jpg
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- Hemigaleidae
- taxon name
- Hemigaleidae
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Article
6 sectionsContents
- Genera and species
- ''Chaenogaleus''
- ''Hemigaleus''
- ''Hemipristis''
- ''Paragaleus''
- References
The weasel sharks are a family, the Hemigaleidae, of ground sharks found from the eastern Atlantic Ocean to the continental Indo-Pacific. They are found in shallow coastal waters to a depth of .
Most species are small, reaching no more than long, though the snaggletooth shark (Hemipristis elongatus) may reach . They have horizontally oval eyes, small spiracles, and precaudal pits. Two dorsal fins occur with the base of the first placed well forward of the pelvic fins. The caudal fin has a strong ventral lobe and undulations on the dorsal lobe margin. They feed on a variety of small bony fishes and invertebrates; at least two species specialize on cephalopods. They are not known to have attacked people.