Field identification guide to the sharks and rays of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes

Field Identification Guide to the Sharks and Rays
of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden


prepared by
Ramón Bonfil
Marine Program
Wildlife Conservation Society
Bronx, New York, USA
and
Mohamed Abdallah
Strategic Action Program
Regional Organization for the Conservation of
the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Rome, 2004

Table of Contents

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

ISBN 92-5-105045-7

All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Chief, Publishing and Multimedia Service, Information Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy or by email to [email protected]

© FAO 2004

Bonfil, R.; Abdallah, M.
Field identification guide to the sharks and rays of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes.
Rome, FAO. 2004. 71p. 12 colour plates.

ABSTRACT

This volume presents a fully illustrated field guide for the identification of the sharks and rays most relevant to the fisheries of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. An extensive literature review and two field surveys in the region were carried out for the preparation of this document. A total of 49 sharks and 45 batoids reliably reported for the region are listed and those common in the fisheries or likely to be found through fishing operations are fully treated (44 sharks and 33 batoids).
Included here are the first confirmed reports for the region of Hemigaleus microstoma, Carcharhinus dussumieri, Aetomylaeus vespertilio, Himantura fai, Mobula japanica and an undescribed Dasyatis sp. The guide includes sections on technical terms and measurements for sharks and batoids, and fully illustrated keys to those orders and families that occur in the region. Each species account includes: at least one annotated illustration of the species highlighting its relevant identification characters; basic information on nomenclature, synonyms and possible misidentifications; FAO, common and local names; basic information on size, habitat and biology, importance to fisheries, and distribution. Colour plates for a large number of the species are included.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Field Identification Guide to the Sharks and Rays of the Red Sea and Gulf of Adenpdf

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTIONpdf

Physical and chemical characteristics of the region
Geologyand physical features
Wind, temperature, currents and tides
Biological characteristics of the region
The fisheries of the region
General remarks

SHARKSpdf

Technical terms and measurements
List of families and species occurring in the area
Guide to the orders and families of sharks occurring in the area
Order SQUALIFORMES–Dogfish sharks
ECHINORHINIDAE
CENTROPHORIDAE
Order HETERODONTIFORMES – Bullhead sharks
HETERODONTIDAE
Order LAMNIFORMES – Mackerel sharks and allies
ODONTASPIDIDAE
ALOPIIDAE
LAMNIDAE
Order ORECTOLOBIFORMES–Nurse, carpet andwhale sharks
STEGOSTOMATIDAE
GINGLYMOSTOMATIDAE
RHINCODONTIDAE
Order CARCHARHINIFORMES – Ground sharks and allies
SCYLIORHINIDAE
PROSCYLLIIDAE
TRIAKIDAE
HEMIGALEIDAE
CARCHARHINIDAE
SPHYRNIDAE
Guide to Families and Species
ECHINORHINIDAEpdf
Echinorhinus brucus
CENTROPHORIDAEpdf
Centrophorus atromarginatus
Centrophorus granulosus
Centrophorus tessellatus
Deania profundorum
HETERODONTIDAEpdf
Heterodontus ramalheira
Heterodontus sp.A
ODONTASPIDIDAEpdf
Carcharias taurus
ALOPIIDAEpdf
Alopias pelagicus
Alopias superciliosus
Alopias vulpinus
LAMNIDAEpdf
Isurus oxyrinchus
STEGOSTOMATIDAEpdf
Stegostoma fasciatum
GINGLYMOSTOMATIDAEpdf
Nebrius ferrugineus
RHINCODONTIDAEpdf
Rhincodon typus
SCYLIORHINIDAEpdf
Apristurus indicus
Halaelurus boesemani
PROSCYLLIIDAEpdf
Eridacnis radcliffei
TRIAKIDAEpdf
Iago omanensis
Mustelus mosis
HEMIGALEIDAEpdf
Hemigaleus microstoma
Hemipristis elongatus
CARCHARHINIDAEpdf
Carcharhinus albimarginatus
Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos
Carcharhinus altimus
Carcharhinus plumbeus
Carcharhinus amblyrhynchoides
Carcharhinus brevipinna
Carcharhinus limbatus
Carcharhinus sorrah
Carcharhinus melanopterus
Carcharhinus dussumieri
Carcharhinus sealei
Carcharhinus falciformis
Carcharhinus amboinensis
Carcharhinus leucas
Carcharhinus longimanus
Galeocerdo cuvier
Loxodon macrorhinus
Rhizoprionodon acutus
Negaprion acutidens
Triaenodon obesus
SPHYRNIDAEpdf
Sphyrna lewini
Sphyrna mokarran

BATOID FISHESpdf

Technical terms and measurements
List of families and species occurring in the area
Guide to the orders and families of batoid fishes occurring in the area
Order PRISTIFORMES–Sawfishes
PRISTIDAE
Order TORPEDINIFORMES–Electric rays
NARKIDAE
TORPEDINIDAE
Order RHINOBATIFORMES – Guitarfishes, wedgefishes and shark-rays
RHINOBATIDAE
RHYNCHOBATIDAE
Order MYLIOBATIFORMES - Stingrays, butterfly rays, eagle rays and mantas
DASYATIDAE
GYMNURIDAE
MYLIOBATIDAE
RHINOPTERIDAE
MOBULIDAE
Guide to Families and Species
PRISTIDAEpdf
Anoxypristis cuspidata
Pristis pectinata
Pristis zijsron
NARKIDAEpdf
Heteronarce bentuviai
TORPEDINIDAE pdf
Torpedo panthera
Torpedo sinuspersici
RHINOBATIDAEpdf
Rhinobatos granulatus
Rhinobatos halavi
Rhinobatos punctifer
Rhinobatos salalah
Rhinobatos schlegelii
Rhinobatos thouin
RHYNCHOBATIDAEpdf
Rhina ancylostoma
Rhynchobatus djiddensis
DASYATIDAEpdf
Himantura fai
Himantura gerrardi
Himantura imbricata
Himantura uarnak
Pastinachus sephen
Dasyatis kuhlii
Taeniura lymma
Taeniura meyeni
Urogymnus asperrimus
GYMNURIDAEpdf
Gymnura poecilura
MYLIOBATIDAEpdf
Aetobatus flagellum
Aetobatus narinari
Aetomylaeus milvus
Aetomylaeus vespertilio
RHINOPTERIDAEpdf
Rhinoptera javanica
MOBULIDAEpdf
Manta birostris
Mobula eregoodootenkee
Mobula japanica
Mobula tarapacana

BIBLIOGRAPHYpdf

INDEX TO SCIENTIFIC AND VERNACULAR NAMESpdf

LIST OF COLOUR PLATESpdf