Bigeye thresher
Alopias superciliosus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Bigeye thresher
- Scientific
- Alopias superciliosus
- Dhivehi
- ލޯބޮޑު ކަނޑި މިޔަރުLoabodu kandi miyaru
- Group
- Sharks
- Maximum size
- Up to about 4.9 m (total length); commonly 3.5 m; max. published weight 363.8 kg (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 4.6 m
- Depth and habitat
- Open ocean, near the surface and in mid-water, recorded from 0 to 730 m (usually 0 to 100 m)
- IUCN status
- VU · VulnerableVulnerable (VU), assessed 2018CITES Appendix II
Description
A large thresher shark with huge, upward-facing eyes set in a deep groove along the head and a very long upper tail lobe. It is purplish grey above and cream below. It ranges from the surface down to more than 500 m, rising at night to hunt fish and squid.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name loabodu kandi miyaru (MRS 1997). MRS notes it was first recorded in Maldivian waters by Soviet research vessels. Sharks are fully protected in the Maldives (since 2010).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Alopias-superciliosus.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ލޯބޮޑު_ކަނޑި_މިޔަރު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Alopias_superciliosus.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Loabodu kandi miyaru' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ލޯބޮޑު ކަނޑި މިޔަރު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.