DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Fox shark
Alopias pelagicus
- Usual depth10–508 m
- Water temperature16–29 °C
- Best monthsFebruary, March, and December
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) cstobie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The pelagic thresher is a species of thresher shark, family Alopiidae; this group of sharks is characterized by the greatly elongated upper lobes of their caudal fins. The pelagic thresher occurs in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, usually far from shore, but occasionally entering coastal habitats. It is often confused with the common thresher, even in professional publications, but can be distinguished by the dark, rather than white, color over the bases of its pectoral fins. The smallest of the three thresher species, the pelagic thresher typically measures 3 m (9.8 ft) long.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Pelagic thresher”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 42 records
- February: 47 records
- March: 63 records
- April: 44 records
- May: 43 records
- June: 27 records
- July: 23 records
- August: 25 records
- September: 18 records
- October: 31 records
- November: 32 records
- December: 54 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 10–508 m · Deepest record: 508 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 16–29 °C
Photos
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Ben Jobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Frank Dietze, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Pierre Pericard, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Slunky, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Pierre Pericard, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Fox shark, Pelagic thresher, Thresher shark, Whiptail shark, fox shark, pelagic thresher, pelagic thresher shark, Pelagic Tresher Shark, Smalltooth Thresher Shark, thresher shark, whiptail shark
Names in 8 more languages
- German
- Pazifischer Fuchshai, Pelagischer Fuchshai
- Spanish
- Tiburon zorro, Tiburón zorro pelágico, Zorro de mar, zorro pelágico
- French
- renard pélagique, Requin-renard, Requin renard pélagique, Requin-renard pélagique
- Indonesian
- Cucut pedang, Hiu lancur, Hiu monyet, Hiu tikus, Tikusan, Yee tikoh
- Japanese
- nitara, Nitari, onagazame, ニタリ
- Korean
- 환도상어, Hwan-do-sang-ǒ
- Thai
- Chalarm hang-daab, ปลาฉลามหางดาบ, ปลาฉลามหางแส้
- Simplified Chinese
- Qiǎn hǎi cháng wěi shā, 浅海狐鲛, 浅海长尾鲨, 淺海狐鮫, 淺海狐鯊, 淺海長尾鯊, 長尾沙, 长尾沙
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 239 open-data records from 1954 to 2024.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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