Tolnedra's Page of Sharks

ORDER CARCHARHINIFORMES

  Family Scyliorhinidae Gill (1862) Catsharks
The true catsharks, Scyliorhinidae, includes a host of small (most less than 80 cm long) cat-eyed, harmless sharks, found on or near the bottom in almost all seas from the intertidal to below 2000 m depth on the continental and insular slopes. This is by far the largest carcharhinoid family in number of genera and species and is the largest family of sharks. The upper continental slope habitat of most scyliorhinids makes for difficulties in collecting specimens and contributes to the present sketchy state of knowledge of scyliorhinid systematics. It is likely that many more species of scyliorhinids, particularly of the genus Apristurus, will be discovered with further exploration of deepwater benthic habitats. 
    1. Subfamily Atelomycterinae White (1936)
The atelomycterines, including Aulohalaelurus and Atelomycterus, are an Indo-West Pacific group of small, attractively marked, inshore scyliorhinids often found on coral reefs, and resembling, with their cylindrical bodies, color patterns, and thick skins, the coral-loving hemiscylliid orectoloboids of the genus Hemiscyllium. Three of the four known species are confined to Australian waters, with the fourth an apparently wide-ranging and specialized species (Atelomycterus marmoratus). Their biology is poorly known, although all of the species are common in inshore waters where they occur.
           Atelomycterus Garman (1913) coral catsharks
           Aulohalaelurus Fowler (1934) blackspotted catsharks

    2. Subfamily Schroederichthyinae
This new subfamily includes only the genus Schroederichthys, which includes four species of inshore to deepwater catsharks confined to waters of Atlantic Central America and Atlantic and Pacific South America. Some of these species are common, but relatively little is known of their biology.
           Schroederichthys Springer (1966) narrowtail catsharks
    3. Subfamily Scyliorhininae Gill (1862)
           Cephaloscyllium Gill (1862) swell sharks
           Poroderma Smith (1837) barbeled catsharks
           Scyliorhinus Blainville (1816) spotted catsharks
    4. Subfamily Pentanchinae Smith & Radcliffe (1912)
         Tribe Galeini Fowler (1934)
           Asymbolus Whitley (1939) Australian spotted catsharks
           Cephalurus Bigelow & Schroeder (1941) lollipop catsharks
           Galeus Rafinesque (1810) sawtail catsharks
           Halaelurus Gill (1862) tiger catsharks
           Haploblepharus Garman (1913) shysharks
           Holohalaelurus Fowler (1934) Izak catsharks
           Parmaturus Garman (1906) filetail catsharks
         Tribe Pentanchini Smith & Radcliffe (1912)
           Apristurus Garman (1913) ghost/demon catsharks
           Pentanchus Smith & Radcliffe (1912) onefin catshark


  Family Proscyllidae Fowler (1941) Finbacked Catsharks
This is a small mostly deepwater family of small-sized to dwarf, harmless, temperate to tropial sharks, close to the catsharks (Scyliorhinidae) but differing in their anterior first dorsal fins. Members of the family have a disjunct distribution in continental waters from the Western North Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific from South Africa to Japan and the Philippines, and off New Zealand. 
    1. Subfamily Proscylliinae
           Ctenacis Compagno (1973) harlequin catshark
           Eridacnis H.M. Smith (1913) ribbontailed catsharks
           Proscyllium Hilgendorf (1904) graceful catsharks
    2. Subfamily Golluminae
           Gollum Compagno (1973) slender smoothhound


  Family Pseudotriakidae Gill (1893) False Catsharks
This family includes a single genus and species of large deepwater shark of singular appearance, with a scattered but very broad range in most temperate and tropical seas. The biology of the false catshark, Pseudotriakis microdon, is poorly known, and the species is uncommon to rare where it occurs. Its habitat is normally the continental and insular slopes below 200 m, but it occasionally ventures inshore. 
           Pseudotriakis Brito Capello (1867) false/keelbacked catsharks


  Family Leptochariidae Gray (1851) Barbeled Houndshark
This family contains a single genus and species endemic to warm-temperate and tropical waters of West Africa. The barbeled houndshark, Leptocharias smithii, is a distinctive and common small harmless shark of the Eastern Atlantic littoral, similar in some respects to the true houndsharks, Triakidae, but with many scyliorhinid-like and unique characters. Its systematic position is questionable. 
           Leptocharias A. Smith (1838) barbeled houndshark


  Family Triakidae Gray (1851) Houndsharks
This is a large family of small to moderately large, harmless active sharks of considerable importance for marine fisheries. Houndsharks are found in all oceans in cool-temperate to tropical waters; most are coastal, littoral species but a few species are slope and seabottom sharks, ranging down to below 2000 m. None are oceanic. 
    1. Subfamily Triakinae Gray (1851)
           Triakis Muller & Henle (1838) leopard sharks
           Mustelus Linck (1790) smoothhound sharks, smooth dogfishes, gummy sharks
           Scylliogaleus Boulenger (1902) flapnose houndshark
    2. Subfamily Galeorhininae Gill (1862)
         Tribe Iagini Compagno (1973)
           Hemitriakis Herre (1923) whitefin topesharks
           Furgaleus Whitley (1951) whiskery sharks
           Iago Compagno & Springer (1971) bigeye houndsharks
           Gogolia Compagno (1973) sailback houndsharks
         Tribe Galeorhinini Gill (1862)
           Hypogaleus J.L.B. Smith (1957) blacktip tope, zanzibar/lesser soupfins, Japanese tope sharks
           Galeorhinus Blainville (1816) topes, school sharks, oil sharks, vitamin sharks


  Family Hemigaleidae Hasse (1879) Weasel Sharks
This is a family of at least six species of inshore, coastal, tropical sharks confined to the Eastern Hemisphere at present, though in the Tertiary they were worldwide in distribution. The living species are mostly small, below 1.5 m long, except Hemipristis elongatus which reaches 2.4 m. Fossil Hemipristis got far larger, with an estimated size between 3 to 5 m based on a comparison of their teeth with those of H. elongatus. Hemigaleidae were formerly included in the Family Carcharhinidae. 
    1. Subfamily Hemigaleinae Hasse (1879)
           Paragaleus Budker (1935) sharpnose weasel sharks
           Hemigaleus Bleeker (1852) sicklefin weasel sharks
           Chaenogaleus Gill (1862) hooktooth sharks
    2. Subfamily Hemipristinae Fowler (1947)
           Hemipristis Agassiz (1843) snaggletooth sharks, pingal


  Family Carcharhinidae Jordan & Evermann (1896) Requiem/Ground Sharks
This is one of the largest and most important families of sharks, with many species occurring primarily in tropical and warm-temperate seas of the world ocean, both in coastal waters and on the high seas. Most of the dangerous species of sharks are placed in this family, as well as many species that are important to fisheries. Many species of requiem sharks are large, but some are adult at less than a meter length. 
    1. Subfamily Galeocerdinae Whitley (1934)
           Galeocerdo Muller & Henle (1837) tiger sharks
    2. Subfamily Scoliodontinae Whitley (1934)
           Scoliodon Muller & Henle (1837) spadenose shark
    3. Subfamily Carcharhininae Jordan & Evermann (1896)
         Tribe Rhizoprionodontini
           Loxodon Muller & Henle (1838) sliteye shark
           Rhizoprionodon Whitley (1929) sharpnose sharks
         Tribe Isogomphodontini
           Isogomphodon Gill (1862) daggernose shark
         Tribe Carcharhinini Jordan & Evermann (1896)
           Carcharhinus Blainville (1816) gray sharks
           Glyphis Agassiz (1843) river sharks
           Lamiopsis Gill (1862) broadfin shark
           Nasolamia Compagno & Garrick (1983) whitenose sharks
           Negaprion Whitley (1940) lemon sharks
           Prionace Cantor (1849) blue sharks
         Tribe Triaenodontini Bonaparte (1838)
           Triaenodon Muller & Henle (1837) whitetip reef sharks


  Family Sphyrnidae Gill (1872) Hammerhead Sharks
Among the easily recognized of living sharks, the hammerheads are a compact yet structurally diverse and highly successful group of inshore to semioceanic sharks that occur in all temperate and tropical seas. The bizarre "hammer" or cephalofoil may serve as both a bowplane to increase the maneuvering abilities of these sharks, and to increase their sensory acuity. The larger species are definitely dangerous to people, but the smaller forms are harmless. 
           Sphyrna Rafinesque (1810) hammerhead and bonnethead sharks
           Eusphyra Gill (1862) winghead sharks

All Family descriptions are from Compagno, L.J.V. 1988. Sharks of the order Carcharhiniformes. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 486 p.