Carcharhinus coatesi (Whitley, 1939b)

White, William T. & Ko’Ou, Alfred, 2018, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of Papua New Guinea, Zootaxa 4411 (1), pp. 1-82 : 33-34

Carcharhinus coatesi (Whitley, 1939b)

Australian Blackspot Shark

Platypodon coatesi Whitley, 1939b: 234 , Fig. 7. Holotype: QM I.6226. Type locality: Hinchinbrook Passage, Queensland, Australia.

Local synonymy: Carcharias menisorrah— Ogilby, 1888: 2 (Port Moresby); Ogilby, 1889: 1768 (Port Moresby). Eulamia menisorrah — Fowler, 1928: 20 (Port Moresby); Fowler 1934: 385 (Port Moresby); Fowler, 1941: 161 (Port Moresby). Carcharhinus dussumieri— Munro, 1958: 112 (Ningin Island, New Ireland); Munro, 1967: 10, pl. 1, fig. 12? (New Guinea); Filewood, 1973: 7 (PNG?); Kailola, 1987: 14 (PNG). Carcharhinus menisorrah— Munro, 1958: 112 (southern New Guinea); Munro, 1967: 10, pl. 1, fig. 11 (New Guinea); Filewood, 1973: 7 (PNG). Carcharhinus menisorrah (= coatesi ) Filewood, 1973: 7 (PNG). Carcharhinus sealei— Compagno, 1984: 498 (PNG); Kailola, 1987: 17 (PNG). Carcharhinus coeatesi— White et al., 2018: 140, figs (PNG).

PNG voucher material: (23 spec.) CSIRO C 1039, 465 mm TL, between Normanby and Samarai Islands , Milne Bay Province ; CSIRO H 7801-01, male 480 mm TL, Freshwater Bay , Gulf of Papua, 8°5’45” S, 145°52’36” E, 14–16 m depth, 8 Jun. 2014 ; CSIRO H 7810-01, female 430 mm TL, CSIRO H 7810-02, male 350 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°2’55.8” S, 145°44’57” E, 14–16 m depth, 19 Jun. 2014 ; CSIRO H 8163-01 (dried jaws), adult male 760 mm TL, Freshwater Bay , Gulf of Papua, 8°3’45” S, 145°46’49” E, 13–18 m depth, 9 Sep. 2015 ; CSIRO H 8170-01 (dried jaws), adult male 730 mm TL, Gulf of Papua , 2015 ; CSIRO H 8159-01 (dried jaws), adult male 740 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°3’40” S, 145°36’45” E, 18 m depth, 22 Nov. 2014 ; CSIRO H 8167-01 (dried jaws), adult male 770 mm TL, east of Fly River mouth, Gulf of Papua, 8°40’ S, 144°7’ E, 13–20 m depth, 2 Dec. 2014 ; KFRS E.008 (dried jaws), female, Hall Sound , Central Province, 13 Nov. 1963 ; KFRS E.010A (dried jaws), KFRS E.010B (dried jaws), north of Pinupaka Anchorage, Hall Sound , Central Province, 12 Jun. 1964 ; KFRS E.279C (dried jaws), north of Yule Island , Apr. 1966 ; KFRS E.311A (dried jaws), KFRS E.311B (dried jaws), KFRS E.311C (dried jaws), Orangerie Bay , Jun. 1967 ; KFRS E.669, female 580 mm TL, east of Fly River mouth, Gulf of Papua, 8°42’0” S, 144°6’ E, 18–19 m depth, 5 Dec. 2014 ; KFRS E.692, female 440 mm TL, KFRS E.693, juvenile male 380 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°2’55.8” S, 145°44’57” E, 14–16 m depth, 19 Jun. 2014 ; KFRS E.695, female 400 mm TL, KFRS E.696, juvenile male 440 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°3’15” S, 145°44’21.6” E, 17–19 m depth, 7 Jun. 2014 ; KFRS E.699, juvenile male 430 mm TL, Freshwater Bay , Gulf of Papua, 8°5’45” S, 145°52’36” E, 14–16 m depth, 8 Jun. 2014 ; KFRS E.710, juvenile male 420 mm TL, Freshwater Bay , Gulf of Papua, 8°5’24.6” S, 145°51’7.2” E, 13 m depth, 22 Jun. 2014 ; KFRS E.715, adult male 740 mm TL, Gulf of Papua , 2014 .

Remarks: First reported from Port Moresby by Ogilby (1888) as Carcharias menisorrah . Previously considered to be a synonym of Carcharhinus dussumieri (Valenciennes in Müller & Henle, 1839) ; recently resurrected as a valid species for the Australian and New Guinea members of the dussumieri -sealei complex. Very common in the Gulf of Papua.