Night shark (Carcharhinus signatus)

Scientific name: Carcharhinus signatus Poey, 1868

Night shark (Carcharhinus signatus)

The Night shark (Carcharhinus signatus) is a marine fish of the family Carcharhinidae. In the aquarium it needs water at 11–16°C (52–61°F).

Night shark care at a glance

Temperature
11–16°C (52–61°F)

Biology

Coastal and semi-oceanic species found on or along outer continental and insular shelves. Found to depths of 40 m. Forms schools. Nocturnal, and feeding mainly on small bony fishes and squid. Viviparous. Off West Africa, recorded water parameters at 90 to 285 m, where it was caught includes: temperature = 11 to 16?C; salinity = 36 ppt; oxygen = 1.81 ml/l. Not known to be dangerous to people.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Carcharhinus signatus
Family
Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks)
Order
Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks)
Class
Elasmobranchii (Sharks and Rays)
Maximum length
280
Common length
200
Depth range
0–600 m (0–1969 ft)
Environment
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 0 - 600 m, usually 50 - 100 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Delaware to Florida (USA), Bahamas, and Cuba; southern Brazil, Argentina. Eastern Atlantic: Senegal to C?te d'Ivoire, Ghana to Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, off northern Namibia.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Vulnerable (VU) (A2abd+3bd+4abd)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial
Resilience
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (tm=8-10; Fec=4; Tmax=17; K=0.12)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Last updated