Spottail shark

How it lives

It lives on continental and island shelves, mostly near reefs, from the surface down to about 140 m, usually at 1 to 73 m. It spends the day near the seabed and the night near the surface. Females give birth to live young, with a yolk-sac placenta, after about 10 months. A litter averages 3 pups (range 1 to 8), each about 50 cm long. In a study on the Great Barrier Reef, sharks matured at about 2.3 to 2.4 years and began breeding at about 3.4 years. Ageing from vertebrae gave 9 years for males and 14 for females, and the authors note that maximum age may be underestimated.

Where it goes

The sources read give no seasonal migration route. It is reported near the seabed by day and near the surface at night, most often around reefs on the continental shelf.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Assessed as Near Threatened worldwide in 2020. It is caught as targeted catch and bycatch across its range, in industrial and small-scale fisheries. Wikipedia notes that declines are linked to overfishing, with the exception of relatively well-managed fisheries in northern Australia. The range covers the tropical Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa, Madagascar and the Red Sea and Persian Gulf through India and Southeast Asia to northern Australia. No regional population counts were found in the sources read.