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Carcharhinus falciformis

Silky Shark

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Silky Shark; French Requin Soyeux

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE circumtropical - subtropics, incl. e.Africa - Fr.Polynesia, Hawai‘i - tropical America; s. to n.NZ (to 40°S)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group - known PL only; N.Group - known TN only; Marine, pelagic

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Injurous bite - serious

KEY FEATURES: To 3.0m TL.

Enlarged Image of 'Carcharhinus falciformis'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
						P

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
+

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Carcharhinus falciformis (Müller & Henle, 1839)
SYNONYMS: Carcharhinus menisorrah; Carcharias falciformis [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; CHONDRICHTHYES; Carcharhiniformes; CARCHARHINIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Palmerston: jaw Bill Tuakana Marsters, ID by A.D.Lewis (Preston95). Tongareva: Deepsea-longline 4 specimens T&P85.

References:
text p.34 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.19 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
plate 2-08 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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