Carcharhinus

genus of fishes

Carcharhinus is one of the 12 genera of the requiem shark family, Carcharhinidae.

Carcharhinus
Temporal range: Eocene-recent
~42–0 Ma[1][2]
C. amblyrhynchos
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae
Genus: Carcharhinus
Blainville 1816
Type species
Carcharias melanopterus
Quoy & Gaimard 1824
Synonyms
  • Aprionodon Gill 1861
  • Eulamia Gill 1862
  • Galeolamna Owen 1853
  • Gillisqualus Whitley 1934
  • Hypoprion Müller & Henle 1838
  • Platypodon Gill 1862
  • Pterolamiops Springer 1951
  • Uranga Whitley 1943

Like all members of the family, they have round eyes, and the pectoral fins are completely behind the five gill slits. Most species are viviparous: the young are born fully developed.

Species

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There are currently 34 known species of the Carcharhinus genus: [3]

References

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  1. Carrier, Jeffrey C.; Musick, John A.; Heithaus, Michael R. (2004). Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives. CRC Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8493-1514-5.
  2. Cicimurri & Knight, 2009
  3. "Fish Identification". fishbase.org. Retrieved 24 June 2013.