Hemipristis elongata (Klunzinger, 1871)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The snaggletooth shark, or fossil shark (Hemipristis elongata), 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) .
Wikipedia contributors, Snaggletooth shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:46:49.743868+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hemipristis elongata (Klunzinger, 1871)
- Name authority
- (Klunzinger, 1871)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Hemigaleidae
- Genus
- Hemipristis
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassSelachii
- superorderGaleomorphi
- orderCarcharhiniformes
- familyHemigaleidae Hasse, 1878
- genusHemipristis Agassiz, 1843
- speciesHemipristis elongata (Klunzinger, 1871)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Dirrhizodon elongatus Klunzinger, 1871 Klunzinger, 1871 | synonym |
| Hemipristis elongatus (Klunzinger, 1871) (Klunzinger, 1871) | synonym |
| Hemipristis pingali Setna & Sarangdhar, 1946 Setna & Sarangdhar, 1946 | synonym |
| Heterogaleus ghardaqensis Gohar & Mazhar, 1964 Gohar & Mazhar, 1964 | synonym |
| Carcharias ellioti Day, 1878 Day, 1878 | synonym |
| Paragaleus acutiventralis Chu, 1960 Chu, 1960 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=277427 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:3KRYJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.