Paragaleus leucolomatus Compagno & Smale, 1985
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 whitetip weasel shark (Paragaleus leucolomatus) is a weasel shark of the family Hemigaleidae. Only one specimen, in Kosi Bay, South Africa, has been caught. That specimen was 96 cm (38 in) long. In 2020, a fuzzy image believed to be this shark was obtained on the show Extinct or Alive.
The reproduction of this shark is viviparous.
Wikipedia contributors, Whitetip weasel shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:31:23.492871+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Paragaleus leucolomatus Compagno & Smale, 1985
- Name authority
- Compagno & Smale, 1985
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Hemigaleidae
- Genus
- Paragaleus
- 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
- genusParagaleus Budker, 1935
- speciesParagaleus leucolomatus Compagno & Smale, 1985
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Paragaleus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic weasel sharkParagaleus pectoralis (Garman, 1906) | HemigaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paragaleus longicaudatus (Bessednov, 1966) | HemigaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paragaleus tengi (Chen, 1963) | HemigaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Compagno, L. J. V., & Smale, M. J. (1985). Paragaleus leucolomatus, a new shark from South Africa, with notes on the systematics of hemigaleid sharks (Carcharhiniformes: Hemigaleidae). The J.L.B Smith Institute of Ichthyology Special Publication, No. 37: 1–21. 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:4CVHB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.