Fossil Shark

Hemipristis elongata

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Endangered

Usual depth15–106 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsAugust, September, and October
How commonRare

Photo credit: no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

About this species

The snaggletooth shark, or fossil shark, is a species of weasel shark in the family Hemigaleidae, and the only extant member of the genus Hemipristis. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific, including the Red Sea, from southeast Africa to the Philippines, north to China, and south to Australia, at depths from 1 to 130 meters. This shark prefers the bottom of the water column in coastal areas, but can be found on continental and insular shelves as well. Its length is up to 240 cm (7.87 ft).

Text from the Wikipedia article “Snaggletooth 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: 12 records
February: 4 records
March: 6 records
April: 10 records
May: 6 records
June: 5 records
July: 2 records
August: 15 records
September: 15 records
October: 25 records
November: 11 records
December: 5 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 15–106 m · Deepest record: 144 m

0–10 m: 4 records
10–20 m: 3 records
20–30 m: 5 records
30–40 m: 11 records
40–50 m: 3 records
50–60 m: 4 records
60–70 m: 3 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 4 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

18–20 °C: 1 records
20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 8 records
24–26 °C: 16 records
26–28 °C: 37 records
28–30 °C: 15 records

Names and classification

English: Fossil Shark, snaggletooth shark

Names in 1 more languages

Simplified Chinese: 大鯊條, 尖鰭副沙條鮫, 沙條, 鈍吻鯊(半鋸鯊), 長半鋸鯊, 鯊條

Other scientific names: Carcharias ellioti, Dirrhizodon elongatus, Hemipristis elongatus, Hemipristis pingali, Heterogaleus ghardaqensis, Paragaleus acutiventralis

Similar species

Australian Weasel Shark
Hemigaleus australiensis
hooktooth shark
Chaenogaleus macrostoma
Sickelfin Weasel Shark
Hemigaleus microstoma

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).
148 open-data records from 1871 to 2022.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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