DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Bigeye thresher
Alopias superciliosus
- Usual depth90–585 m
- Water temperature17–29 °C
- Best monthsMarch, May, and August
- How commonOccasional
About this species
The bigeye thresher is a species of thresher shark, family Alopiidae, found in temperate and tropical oceans worldwide. Like the other thresher sharks, nearly half its total length consists of the elongated upper lobe of the tail fin. Its common name comes from its enormous eyes, which are placed in keyhole-shaped sockets that allow them to be rotated upward. This species can also be distinguished by a pair of deep grooves on the top of its head, from which its scientific name is derived.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Bigeye 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: 0 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 5 records
- April: 1 records
- May: 4 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 1 records
- August: 4 records
- September: 2 records
- October: 1 records
- November: 1 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 90–585 m · Deepest record: 584.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 17–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Bigeye thresher, Bigeye thresher shark, Deepsea bigeye thresher, Big-eye shark, bigeye thresher, bigeye thresher shark, Bigeye Tresher shark, deepsea bigeye thresher, False Thresher, Long-tailed Shark, Thresher shark, Whiptail
Names in 7 more languages
- German
- Grossaugenfuchshai, Großaugen-Fuchshai, Großäugiger Drescherhai, großäugiger Fuchshai, Großäugiger Fuchshai
- Spanish
- Azotador, Coleto, Coludo cebucano, Pejerrabo, Pez zorro, tiburón zorro, Tiburón zorro, Tiburón zorro de ojo grande, tiburón zorro ojón, Zorro, Zorro blanco, Zorro de mar, Zorro negro, zorro ojón, Zorro ojón
- French
- renard à gros yeux, Renard à gros yeux, Requin-renard à gros yeux
- Indonesian
- Hiu lancur, Hiu monyet, Hiu tikus, Paitan
- Japanese
- hachiware, Hachiware, ハチワレ
- Thai
- ปลาฉลามหางยาวตาโต
- Simplified Chinese
- 三娘鯊, 三娘鲨, 大眼長尾鯊, 大眼长尾鲨, 深海狐鮫, 深海狐鯊, 深海狐鲛, 深海長尾鯊, 深海长尾鲨, 長尾沙, 长尾沙
Other scientific names: Alopecias superciliosus, Alopias profundus, Alopias superciliousus
Similar species
- Common thresher
Alopias vulpinus
Fox sharkAlopias pelagicus
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).
- 416 open-data records from 1841 to 2024.
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