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Thresher Shark
Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788)
The whole Shark (AMS I.39215-001).
The body of the Thresher Shark.
The head of the Thresher Shark
Cross section of the Thresher Shark in front of the tail.
All the thresher sharks (Family Alopiidae) have an extremely long upper lobe of the caudal fin. The tail is used to herd and stun small fishes upon which the shark feeds.
The Thresher Shark grows to a maximum size of around 5.5m. In life it is a blue-grey colour dorsally and white ventrally.
This species has a widespread distribution in temperate and topical waters, both coastal and oceanic. In Australia it has been recorded from the surface down to 370m, in temperate waters from southern Queensland to Tasmania and through to the central coast of Western Australia.
Three species of thresher sharks are recorded from Australian waters. The Thresher Shark is recognised by its pointed, pectoral fins, white colouration of the body above the pectoral fins, and other fin characteristics.
The Bigeye Thresher Alopias superciliosus (Lowe, 1839), has very large eyes which extend onto the top surface of the head, and a deep groove which runs from behind the eyes to above the gill slits.
The Pelagic Thresher, Alopias pelagicus (Nakamura, 1935), is recognised by a combination of characters including fin shapes and colouration. The side of the body above the pectoral fin is dark.
Further reading
- Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513, Pl. 1-84.
