Thresher
Alopias vulpinus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Thresher
- Scientific
- Alopias vulpinus
- Dhivehi
- ކަނޑި މިޔަރުKandi miyaru
- Group
- Sharks
- Maximum size
- Up to about 5.7 m (total length); commonly 4.5 m; max. published weight 348 kg (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 5.5 m or more
- Depth and habitat
- Open ocean, near the surface and in mid-water, recorded from 0 to 650 m (usually 0 to 200 m)
- IUCN status
- VU · VulnerableVulnerable (VU), assessed 2018CITES Appendix II
Description
The largest thresher, reaching about 5.7 m, with a very long upper tail lobe and a conspicuous white patch extending over the pectoral fin bases. It hunts schooling fish and squid by slapping them with its tail.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name kandi miyaru (MRS 1997). MRS notes it was occasionally caught in offshore longline fisheries and very rarely seen by divers near the atolls. Sharks are fully protected in the Maldives (since 2010).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Alopias-vulpinus.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ކަނޑި_މިޔަރު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Thresher_shark.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Kandi miyaru' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ކަނޑި މިޔަރު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. FishBase also lists 'Nigudigumiyaru' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used.