Prionace glauca ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

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 : 67

Prionace glauca ( Linnaeus, 1758)

Blue Shark

Squalus glaucus Linnaeus, 1758: 235 . No types known. Type locality: northeastern Atlantic (localities include England and Italy).

Local synonymy: Carcharias (Prionodon) glaucus: Lampe, 1914: 213 . Carcharhinus glaucus: Barnard, 1925: 26 ; Barnard, 1947: 9. Glyphis glaucus: Fowler, 1936: 54 , fig. 13; Fowler, 1941: 178; Smith, 1949a: 42, fig. 10; D’Aubrey, 1964a: 24, pl. 10; Smith, 1965: 42, fig. 10. Eulamia glaucus : von Bonde, 1934: 14. Prionace glauca: Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948b: 282 ; D’Aubrey, 1964a: 24, pl. 10; Bass et al., 1975b: 32, fig. 20, pl. 6; Compagno, 1984b: 521, fig.; Bass et al., 1986: 84, fig. 9.32, pl. 1; Compagno, 1988a: 349; Compagno et al., 1989: 70, pl.; Compagno et al., 1991: 88; Compagno, 1999: 120; Heemstra & Heemstra, 2004: 61; Compagno et al., 2005: 316, fig., pl. 51; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 495, fig., pl. 62; Mann, 2013: 42; NPOA, 2013: 43; Ebert & Dando, 2014: 27, fig.; da Silva et al., 2015: 246; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 146; Compagno, 2016: 1323; Weigmann, 2016: 861.

South Africa voucher material: SAIAB 6123 [ex ORI 1722], SAIAB 25716, SAIAB 27167, SAIAB 44228, SAIAB 46921, SAIAB 51222.

South African distribution: Entire coastline from the Orange River (NC) to the KZN border with Mozambique.

Remarks: Prionace glauca has one of the widest known ranges of any cartilaginous fish and occurs in all temperate and most subtropical seas. Off the west coast, it is quite abundant and appears to migrate around the south Atlantic between the African and South American continents depending on the size, sex, and life stage ( da Silva et al., 2010).

Conservation status: NT (2019).