Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos ( Bleeker, 1856 )

Ebert, David A., Wintner, Sabine P. & Kyne, Peter M., 2021, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of South Africa, Zootaxa 4947 (1), pp. 1-127 : 60-61

Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos ( Bleeker, 1856)

Grey Reef Shark

Carcharias (Prionodon) amblyrhynchos Bleeker, 1856: 467 . Holotype: RMNH 7377 (head and skin). Type locality: near Solombo Island , Java Sea, Indonesia.

Local synonymy: Carcharhinus spallanzani: D’Aubrey, 1964a: 29 , pl. 13; Bass et al., 1973: 77,fig. 31. Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos: Bass et al., 1973: 79 , fig. 32; Garrick, 1982: 106, figs. 48–49; Bass et al., 1986: 70, fig. 9.3; Compagno, 1988a: 315; Compagno, 1999: 119; Compagno et al., 2005: 290, fig., pl. 52; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 458, fig., pl. 63; Ebert & Dando, 2014: 33, fig.; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 146; Weigmann, 2016: 854. Carcharhinus wheeleri: Garrick, 1982: 111 , figs. 50–51; Compagno, 1984b: 501, fig.; Bass et al., 1986: 77, fig. 9.18; Compagno, 1988a: 319; Compagno et al., 1989: 66, pl.

South Africa voucher material: SAIAB 25352, SAIAB 27166.

South African distribution: Sodwana Bay and Kosi Bay, northern KZN.

Remarks: This species has a complicated nomenclatural history. D’Aubrey (1964a) referred to it as C. spallanzani and noted its occurrence from Sodwana Bay and northern KZN. Bass et al. (1973) listed both C. amblyrhynchos and C. spallanzani as separate species commenting that the former was rare in East Africa, while the latter occurred in the shallow waters of northern KZN. Garrick (1982) reviewed the issue and described it as a new species C. wheeleri . The name C. wheeleri was considered valid by subsequent authors ( Bass et al., 1986; Compagno et al., 1989), but was later synonymized with C. amblyrhynchos ( Bonfil & Abdallah, 2004) . Naylor et al. (2012a) found molecular support for reviving C. wheeleri as a separate species while White (2012) stated that its status required further study. The use of C. amblyrhynchos is retained here, but with the caveat that the issue is still unresolved and should be investigated to clarify the validity of C. wheeleri .

Conservation status: EN (2020).