genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
requiem shark
Requiem sharks are sharks of the family Carcharhinidae in the order Carcharhiniformes. They are migratory, live-bearing sharks of warm seas (sometimes of brackish or fresh water) and include such species as the bull shark, lemon shark, blac ...
s in 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 ...
Carcharhinidae.Scoliodon /ref> It was formerly thought to include only a single
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
species, the spadenose shark (''S. laticaudus''), but recent taxonomic research has found an additional species, the Pacific spadenose shark (''S. macrorhynchos'').
Location
The ''Scoliodon'' genus of sharks has been found mainly in the Indo-West Pacific oceans from the west coasts of Africa to south of Japan.
Biology
''Scoliodon'' has an elongated, spindle-shaped body tapered at the ends, making it a very fast swimmer. The trunk and tail are laterally compressed, while the head region is dorsoventrally compressed. The entire body is covered by an
exoskeleton
An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...
of
placoid scales
A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scale (zoology), scales, which can also provide effective Underwater camouflage, camouflage through the us ...
. The mouth is located on the
ventral
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
side and is bound on both sides by
jaw
The jaws are a pair of opposable articulated structures at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth ...
s. It has two rows of
homodont
In anatomy, a heterodont (from Greek, meaning 'different teeth') is an animal which possesses more than a single tooth morphology.
Human dentition is heterodont and diphyodont as an example.
In vertebrates, heterodont pertains to animals where ...
or
polyphyodont
A polyphyodont is any animal whose tooth (animal), teeth are continually replaced. In contrast, diphyodonts are characterized by having only two successive sets of teeth.
Polyphyodonts include most toothed fishes (most notably sharks), many repti ...
teeth, which are homologous to the
placoid scales
A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scale (zoology), scales, which can also provide effective Underwater camouflage, camouflage through the us ...
covering the body. Male ''Scoliodon'' species mature at a length of 33 cm while female ''Scoliodon'' species mature at 36 cm. When reproducing, the female is mostly ovoviviparous, ''Scolion laticuadus'' has a minimum of 8 to a maximum of 19 embryos when conceiving. At birth, the ''Scolion laticaudus'' is roughly 13.7 cm in length. Because of limited fecundity, the ''Scoliodon'' genus of sharks can be negatively affected by targeted fishing and habitat degradation.
*Sen, S.; Chakraborty, S. K.; Zacharia, P. U.; Dash, G.; Joe Kizhakudan, S.; Bharadiya, S. A. & Gohel, J. K. (2018). "Reproductive strategy of spadenose shark, ''Scoliodon laticaudus'' Muller and Henle, 1839 along north‐eastern Arabian Sea". ''Journal of Applied Ichthyology''. ''34'' (6): 1304–1313.
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Scoliodon/classification/
Shark generaTaxa named by Johannes Peter MüllerTaxa named by Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle
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