Hemigaleus microstoma Bleeker, 1852

Open encyclopedia reference

The sicklefin weasel shark (Hemigaleus microstoma) is an uncommon species of ground shark in the family Hemigaleidae. It is native to southern India, southern China, and parts of Southeast Asia, living in shallow waters down to a depth of 170 m (560 ft). This lightly built shark is characterized by its very short mouth, broad upper teeth with serrations only on the trailing edge, and strongly sickle-shaped fins with obvious white tips on the two dorsal fins. It is light grey or bronze in colour, often with small white blotches on its sides; it reaches a maximum known length of 1.1 m (3.6 ft). Spending most of its time close to the sea floor, the sicklefin weasel shark is a specialist predator of cephalopods. Its reproductive mode is viviparous, in which the unborn young form a placental connection to their mother. Females probably give birth twice a year, with each litter consisting of two to four pups.

Wikipedia contributors, Sicklefin weasel shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:46:09.793298+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Hemigaleus microstoma Bleeker, 1852

Name authority

Bleeker, 1852

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Elasmobranchii

Order

Carcharhiniformes

Family

Hemigaleidae

Genus

Hemigaleus

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumChondrichthyes
7. classElasmobranchii
8. subclassNeoselachii
9. infraclassSelachii
10. superorderGaleomorphi
11. orderCarcharhiniformes
12. familyHemigaleidae Hasse, 1878
13. genusHemigaleus Bleeker, 1852
14. speciesHemigaleus microstoma Bleeker, 1852

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Hemigaleus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 7 records assigned to Hemigaleidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Bleeker, P. (1852). Bijdrage tot de kennis der Plagiostomen van den Indischen Archipel. Verhandelingen van Het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten En Wetenschappen, v. 24 (art. 12): 1–92, Pls. 1–4. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3KNR6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.