The blacktip tope (''Hypogaleus hyugaensis''), also known as pencil shark or blacktip topeshark, is a houndshark 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 ...

Triakidae, and the only member of the genus ''Hypogaleus''. It is found in the deep waters of the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

in the Indo-West Pacific, from

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, at depths between 40 and 230 m. It can grow up to a length of 1.27 m.

References

* blacktip tope Marine fish of East Africa Fish of the Persian Gulf Fish of Japan Fish of Taiwan Marine fish of Southern Australia blacktip tope {{shark-stub