Leptocharias smithii

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	CHONDRICHTHYES	CARCHARHINIFORMES	LEPTOCHARIIDAE

Scientific Name:

Leptocharias smithii

Species Authority:

(Müller & Henle, 1839)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Barbeled Houndshark, Barbeled Houndshark

Synonym/s:

Triaenodon smithii Müller & Henle, 1839

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Near Threatened ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2005

Assessor/s

Compagno, L.J.V.

Evaluator/s:

Musick, J.A. & Fowler, S.L. (Shark Red List Authority)

Justification:
The Barbeled Houndshark (Leptocharias smithii) is relatively common, but it has a limited range in heavily fished tropical inshore coastal waters. The species is taken as utilised bycatch, but fisheries statistics are lacking.

History:

2000

–

Lower Risk/near threatened

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This shark occurs in the eastern Atlantic: Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola, possibly ranging north to Morocco and Mediterranean. Found inshore at depths of 5–75m (Compagno 1984b).
Countries:	Native: Angola; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; Mauritania; Nigeria; Senegal
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Atlantic – southeast; Atlantic – eastern central

Population [top]

Population Trend:	Unknown

Population Trend:

Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	No life history parameters are known for this live-bearing (placentally viviparous) species.
Systems:	Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This small, coastal and inshore benthic shark is or was moderately common but irregularly caught in heavily fished tropical inshore coastal waters of West Africa, and was formerly reported as being particularly common off Goree, Senegal and the Congo and Cuanza River mouths. It is probably of limited importance to intensive inshore artisanal and commercial fisheries in the West African area, where it is taken with hook-and-line, fixed bottom gillnets and by bottom¬trawlers. The bycatch may be discarded by some fisheries, but its flesh is utilised fresh, smoked, or dried-salted for human consumption and its skin is used for leather. No fisheries statistics are available for this species. Probably not taken for sport except incidentally.

Major Threat(s):

This small, coastal and inshore benthic shark is or was moderately common but irregularly caught in heavily fished tropical inshore coastal waters of West Africa, and was formerly reported as being particularly common off Goree, Senegal and the Congo and Cuanza River mouths. It is probably of limited importance to intensive inshore artisanal and commercial fisheries in the West African area, where it is taken with hook-and-line, fixed bottom gillnets and by bottom¬trawlers. The bycatch may be discarded by some fisheries, but its flesh is utilised fresh, smoked, or dried-salted for human consumption and its skin is used for leather. No fisheries statistics are available for this species. Probably not taken for sport except incidentally.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	None in place.

Conservation Actions:

None in place.

Citation:	Compagno, L.J.V. 2005. Leptocharias smithii. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2010.
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