Carcharhinus cautus (Whitley, 1945)
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 nervous shark (Carcharhinus cautus) is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, so named because of its timid behavior in regard to humans. It is common in shallow, coastal waters off northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. A small brownish or grayish shark typically measuring 1.0–1.3 m (3.3–4.3 ft) long, this species has a short, blunt snout, oval eyes, and a relatively large second dorsal fin. The leading margins of most fins are finely edged with black, and the lower caudal fin lobe is black-tipped. Small bony fishes are the main prey of the nervous shark, while crustaceans, molluscs, and snakes may also be eaten. It is viviparous, with the developing embryos nourished through a placental connection. The details of its life history seem to vary depending on latitude—for example, the timing of the breeding season and the length of the gestation period. Females produce litters of one to six young either annually or biennially.
Wikipedia contributors, Nervous shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:14:50.249482+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Carcharhinus cautus (Whitley, 1945)
- Name authority
- (Whitley, 1945)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Carcharhinidae
- Genus
- Carcharhinus
- 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
- familyCarcharhinidae Jordan & Evermann, 1896
- genusCarcharhinus Blainville, 1816
- speciesCarcharhinus cautus (Whitley, 1945)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Carcharhinus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Carcharhinus leiodon Garrick, 1985 | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Carcharhinus fitzroyensis (Whitley, 1943) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| hardnose sharkCarcharhinus macloti (Müller & Henle, 1839) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Carcharhinus obsoletus White, Kyne & Harris, 2019 | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| finetooth sharkCarcharhinus isodon (Valenciennes, 1839) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blacknose sharkCarcharhinus acronotus (Poey, 1860) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| silvertip sharkCarcharhinus albimarginatus (Rüppell, 1837) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Carcharhinus cerdale Gilbert, 1898 | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Carcharhinus coatesi (Whitley, 1939) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| whitecheek sharkCarcharhinus dussumieri (Müller & Henle, 1839) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galapagos sharkCarcharhinus galapagensis (Snodgrass & Heller, 1905) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| oceanic whitetip sharkCarcharhinus longimanus (Poey, 1861) | CarcharhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Galeolamna greyi cauta Whitley, 1945 Whitley, 1945 | 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=271320 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:R3N4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.