Atlantic weasel shark facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Atlantic weasel shark |
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| X-ray image of Paragaleus pectoralis | |
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Paragaleus
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pectoralis
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The Atlantic weasel shark (Paragaleus pectoralis) is a type of weasel shark. It belongs to the family called Hemigaleidae. You can find this shark in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It's sometimes called the little tiger shark.
This shark is the only Paragaleus species found off the western coast of Africa. There are four small shark species in the Paragaleus group. These include the whitetip weasel shark (Paragaleus leucolomatus), the straight-tooth weasel shark (Paragaleus tengi), and the slender weasel shark (Paragaleus randalli). The Atlantic weasel shark is also one of eight species in the larger weasel shark family. Sadly, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) currently lists it as Endangered.
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What Does the Atlantic Weasel Shark Look Like?
This weasel shark is slim and has a snout that is fairly long. It has large eyes and a small mouth. Its upper teeth are small and have jagged edges, while its lower teeth are straight.
You can spot this shark by its light grey color. It also has yellow stripes running along its sides. It has two fins on its back, called dorsal fins. The first dorsal fin is larger and sits in front of its pelvic fins. Its tail fins are not symmetrical and have small dips near the tail.
Where Do Atlantic Weasel Sharks Live?
Atlantic weasel sharks are common both near the coast and further out at sea. They live along the edges of continents in the eastern Atlantic. You can find them close to land in the surf zone, from Mauritania all the way to Angola.
They also live in warm waters around the Cape Verde Islands. They can be found at depths of up to 100 meters (about 328 feet). These sharks have been seen in many countries. This includes Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Once, an Atlantic weasel shark was even found off the east coast of the United States, near New England.
How Big Do They Get and What Do They Eat?
The Atlantic weasel shark is one of the smaller shark species. The biggest one ever recorded was about 138 centimeters (4.5 feet) long. It weighed around 11 kilograms (24 pounds). Scientists believe this is their maximum size.
These sharks mostly eat cephalopods, which include squid and octopuses. They are also known to eat small bony fish like soles and sardines. They grow slowly and become adults later in life.
Life Cycle of the Atlantic Weasel Shark
Atlantic weasel sharks mate from March to May. The baby sharks are born from May to June. These sharks are viviparous. This means they give birth to live young, just like humans do. The baby sharks grow inside the mother's body, getting food from a special connection called a yolk-sac placenta.
A mother shark usually gives birth to 1 to 4 pups at a time. Each new pup is about 47 centimeters (1.5 feet) long. Male sharks become adults when they are about 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) long. Female sharks become adults when they are between 75 and 90 centimeters (2.5 to 3 feet) long.
Atlantic Weasel Sharks and People
Atlantic weasel sharks are often caught by small fishing boats in the eastern Atlantic. They are mostly caught during spring and summer, especially near the coast of Senegal. Fishermen use different tools to catch them, like longlines, hooks, gillnets, and bottom trawls.
The meat from these sharks is used for food, either fresh or dried. It can also be made into fishmeal. Right now, there are no special plans to protect this shark species. This is because we don't have enough information about how many are being caught or how their numbers are changing.
