Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Atlantic weasel shark (Paragaleus pectoralis), recorded as Endangered
Atlantic weasel shark (Paragaleus pectoralis). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Atlantic weasel shark

Paragaleus pectoralis

Atlantic weasel shark is a shark or ray in the family Hemigaleidae (order Carcharhiniformes) — Paragaleus pectoralis, recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Paragaleus pectoralis
Taxonomy
Elasmobranchii · Carcharhiniformes · Hemigaleidae · Paragaleus

Appearance

This particular species of weasel shark is slender with a moderately long snout, large eyes, and a short and small mouth. It is identified by its light grey color and longitudinal yellow stripes on the sides of the body. Of its two dorsal fins, the first fin, located in front of the pelvic fins, is larger than the second.

Range and habitat

Common inshore and offshore along continental shelves of the eastern Atlantic, it can be found close to land in the surf zone from Mauritania to Angola. It is also commonly found in tropical to warm-temperate waters around the Cape Verde Islands, reaching depths of 100 m (330 ft). It has been found in the following countries: Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Breeding

Sharks and rays grow slowly and have few young. A fishery that treats them as bycatch can empty a coastal form.

In crisis

It is currently considered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Endangered.

Atlantic weasel shark is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Atlantic weasel shark, Wikidata item Q40576. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

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Sumatran orangutan

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Axolotl

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Quick answers

What is Atlantic weasel shark?
Atlantic weasel shark is a shark or ray in the family Hemigaleidae (order Carcharhiniformes) — Paragaleus pectoralis.
What is the conservation status of Atlantic weasel shark?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Paragaleus pectoralis. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Atlantic weasel shark live?
It is also commonly found in tropical to warm-temperate waters around the Cape Verde Islands, reaching depths of 100 m (330 ft).
Why is Atlantic weasel shark in crisis?
It is currently considered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Endangered.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Paragaleus pectoralis?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Atlantic weasel shark a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.