Snaggletooth shark
Hemipristis elongata
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Snaggletooth shark
- Scientific
- Hemipristis elongata
- Dhivehi
- ދަތްބުޅި މިޔަރުDhaiy bulhi miyaru
- Group
- Sharks
- Maximum size
- Up to about 2.6 m (total length); commonly 2 m; max. published weight 63 kg (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives To at least 2.3 m; possibly to2.4 m,
- Depth and habitat
- On or near the bottom, recorded from 1 to 130 m
- IUCN status
- EN · EndangeredEndangered (EN), assessed 2023
Description
A slender, light grey to bronze shark with strongly curved fins and long, saw-edged upper teeth; its hooked lower teeth stick out of the mouth. It feeds on other sharks, rays and bony fish in coastal waters.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name dhaiy bulhi miyaru (MRS 1997). MRS notes the only Maldives record was a set of jaws from a shark-netting dhoni in Haa Alifu Atoll. Sharks are fully protected in the Maldives (since 2010).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Hemipristis-elongata.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ދަތްބުޅި_މިޔަރު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Hemipristis_elongata_csiro-nfc.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Dhaiy bulhi miyaru' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ދަތްބުޅި މިޔަރު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. FLAG: the source states no traditional name was recorded and this descriptive name was coined for the book; it is not an established fishermen's name.