Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Pondicherry shark (Carcharhinus hemiodon), recorded as Critically Endangered
Pondicherry shark (Carcharhinus hemiodon). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Pondicherry shark

Carcharhinus hemiodon

Pondicherry shark is a shark or ray in the family Carcharhinidae (order Carcharhiniformes) — Carcharhinus hemiodon, recorded as Critically Endangered.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Carcharhinus hemiodon
Taxonomy
Elasmobranchii · Carcharhiniformes · Carcharhinidae · Carcharhinus

Appearance

The Pondicherry shark has a robust build and a moderately long, pointed snout. The five pairs of gill slits are fairly long. The second dorsal fin is large and tall without a notably elongated free rear tip, and is positioned over or slightly behind the anal fin.

Range and habitat

The Pondicherry shark appears to have been broadly distributed in the Indo-Pacific. Most of the known specimens were collected from India, with more specimens from the Gulf of Oman, Borneo, and Java. This species inhabits inshore waters.

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

Diet

The diet of the Pondicherry shark is thought to consist of small bony fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans.

In crisis

The Pondicherry shark is critically endangered. Fewer than 20 specimens are available for study, and most aspects of its natural history are unknown. While the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the Pondicherry shark as Critically endangered, it had been thought to be extinct since the 1970s.

It is probably threatened by intense and escalating fishing pressure throughout its range.

Pondicherry shark is Critically 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 Pondicherry shark, Wikidata item Q1516764. 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.

Same genus

Photograph of Borneo shark (Carcharhinus borneensis), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Borneo shark

Carcharhinus borneensis
Photograph of Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Oceanic whitetip shark

Carcharhinus longimanus
Photograph of Pacific smalltail shark (Carcharhinus cerdale), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Pacific smalltail shark

Carcharhinus cerdale
Photograph of Smalltail shark (Carcharhinus porosus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Smalltail shark

Carcharhinus porosus

Quick answers

What is Pondicherry shark?
Pondicherry shark is a shark or ray in the family Carcharhinidae (order Carcharhiniformes) — Carcharhinus hemiodon.
What is the conservation status of Pondicherry shark?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Carcharhinus hemiodon. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Pondicherry shark live?
Several older sources reported that it could be found in rivers such as the Hooghli River and the Saigon River.
Why is Pondicherry shark in crisis?
Fewer than 20 specimens are available for study, and most aspects of its natural history are unknown.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Carcharhinus hemiodon?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Pondicherry shark a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.