Australian Weasel Shark

Hemigaleus australiensis

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth8–44 m
Water temperature22–29 °C
Best monthsSeptember, October, and November
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) CSIRO National Fish Collection, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The Australian weasel shark is an uncommon species of ground shark in the family Hemigaleidae. It inhabits shallow waters off northern Australia to a depth of 170 m (560 ft); smaller sharks frequent sand and seagrass habitat and shift to coral reefs as they grow older. A slim, drab species reaching a length of 1.1 m (3.6 ft), it has sickle-shaped fins with dark tips on the second dorsal fin and caudal fin upper lobe. Its upper teeth are broad with strong serrations only on the trailing edge. The lateral line along each side is prominent and exhibits a downward curve below the second dorsal fin.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Australian weasel shark”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 175 records
February: 97 records
March: 32 records
April: 37 records
May: 46 records
June: 77 records
July: 47 records
August: 189 records
September: 257 records
October: 243 records
November: 215 records
December: 193 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 8–44 m · Deepest record: 167.5 m

0–10 m: 1,036 records
10–20 m: 216 records
20–30 m: 44 records
30–40 m: 54 records
40–50 m: 47 records
50–60 m: 34 records
60–70 m: 29 records
70–80 m: 13 records
80–90 m: 16 records
90–100 m: 3 records
100–110 m: 9 records
110+ m: 30 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–29 °C

22–24 °C: 7 records
24–26 °C: 545 records
26–28 °C: 123 records
28–30 °C: 26 records

Names and classification

English: Australian Weasel Shark, Sickelfin Weasel Shark, Weasel Shark

Names in 2 more languages

German: Australischer Wieselhai
Japanese: オーストラリアヒレトガリザメ

Similar species

Sickelfin Weasel Shark
Hemigaleus microstoma
Fossil Shark
Hemipristis elongata
hooktooth shark
Chaenogaleus macrostoma

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).
1,728 open-data records from 1943 to 2023.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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