milk shark
Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837)
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 milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus) is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, whose common name comes from an old Indian belief that consumption of its meat promotes lactation. The largest and most widely distributed member of its genus, the milk shark typically measures 1.1 m (3.6 ft) long, and can be found in coastal tropical waters throughout the eastern Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific regions. Occurring from the surface to a depth of 200 m (660 ft), this species is common near beaches and in estuaries, and has been recorded swimming up rivers in Cambodia. Juveniles are known to inhabit tidal pools and seagrass meadows. The milk shark has a slender body with a long, pointed snout and large eyes, and is a nondescript gray above and white below. This shark can be distinguished from similar species in its range by the long furrows at the corners of its mouth, and seven to 15 enlarged pores just above them.
Wikipedia contributors, Milk shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:53:33.930528+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837)
- Name authority
- (Rüppell, 1837)
- Common name
- milk shark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Carcharhinidae
- Genus
- Rhizoprionodon
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: yes · 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
- familyCarcharhinidae Jordan & Evermann, 1896
- genusRhizoprionodon Whitley, 1929
- speciesRhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Rhizoprionodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Caribbean sharpnose sharkRhizoprionodon porosus (Poey, 1861) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rhizoprionodon lalandii (Valenciennes, 1839) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pacific sharpnose sharkRhizoprionodon longurio (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| grey sharpnose sharkRhizoprionodon oligolinx Springer, 1964 | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rhizoprionodon taylori (Ogilby, 1915) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atlantic sharpnose sharkRhizoprionodon terraenovae (Richardson, 1836) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105802 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:4SDDD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.