The Atlantic weasel shark (''Paragaleus pectoralis'') is a

weasel shark 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 lo ...

of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Hemigaleidae 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 lo ...

, found in the eastern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Also known as the little tiger shark, it is the only species of the genus ''

Paragaleus ''Paragaleus'' is a genus of weasel shark in the family Hemigaleidae. This genus has a rounded or slightly pointed snout, short gill slits, and a broadly arched mouth. The upper teeth have long cusps, and no toothless spaces occur at the jaw midl ...

'' to have been recorded off the western coast of Africa.C. Capape, Y Diatta, M Diop, C Reynaud, O Guelorget (2005). “New data on the reproductive biology of the Atlantic weasel shark, Paragaleus pectoralis (Chondrichthyes: Hemigaleidae) from the coast of Senegal (eastern tropical Atlantic)”. ''International Journal of Ichthyology'' 29(4):363-371 It is one of four species of small sharks within the carcharhinoid genus ''Paragaleus'', including ''Paragaleus leucolomatus'' (whitetip weasel shark), ''Paragaleus tengi'' (straight-tooth weasel shark), and ''Paragaleus randalli'' (slender weasel shark). It also one of eight species within the weasel shark family,

. It is currently considered by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN) as Endangered.

Appearance and morphology

This particular species of weasel shark is slender with a moderately long snout, large eyes, and a short and small mouth. It has small, serrated upper teeth and erect-cusped lower teeth. 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. In addition, it has asymmetric caudal fins with precaudal pits.

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 Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. It is also commonly found in tropical to warm-temperate waters around the

Cape Verde Islands Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

, reaching depths of .Bates, H. 2009. ''Paragaleus pectoralis''. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T161707A5485308. . Downloaded on 25 February 2018. It has been found in the following countries:

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

, Congo,

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

, and

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

. However, its presence has also been recorded on one occasion off the east coast of the United States, close to

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

Size and life cycle

One of the smaller species of shark, the largest recorded adult Atlantic weasel shark measured only and weighed , which is believed to be their maximum size. Feeding primarily on cephalopods, including squid and octopuses, it display slow growth rates as well as late maturity in their lifespan. This shark is considered as a specialist feeder, preying on small bony fishes including soles and sardines in addition to cephalopods. Mating season for this species occurs from March to May, while offspring are released from May to June. These sharks are viviparous and give birth to live young which develop inside the parent's body with a yolk-sac placenta. It gives birth to 1 to 4 pups per litter, averaging in in length. While males mature at in length, females may mature between and in length.

Relationship with humans

Atlantic weasel sharks are a common catch of small commercial fisheries in the eastern Atlantic and are mostly captured during spring and summer in fishing sites along the coast of Senegal. Atlantic weasel sharks are caught using a variety of fishing gear, such as longlines, hook and line, gillnets, and bottom trawls. As such, their meat is used either fresh or dried for human consumption and also processed into fishmeal. At the moment, there are no conservation efforts in place to protect this species because catch levels are neither quantified nor monitored.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q40576 Paragaleus Taxa named by Samuel Garman Fish described in 1906