Alopias pelagicus Nakamura, 1935

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 : 42

Alopias pelagicus Nakamura, 1935

Pelagic Thresher Shark

Alopias pelagicus Nakamura, 1935: 2 , 3, pl. 1, fig. 2. Syntypes: location unknown. Type locality: Su-Ao fish market, Taiwan.

Local synonymy: Alopias pelagicus : D’Aubrey, 1964a: 18, pl. 5 (Natal = A. vulpinnus ); Bass et al., 1975c: 34, fig. 17; Compagno, 1984a: 229, fig.; Bass, 1986: 102, fig. 16.1; Cliff & Wilson, 1986: 13; Compagno et al., 1989: 42, pl.; Compagno, 1999: 118; Heemstra & Heemstra, 2004: 72; Compagno et al., 2005: 179, fig., pl. 29; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 226, fig., pl. 27; NPOA, 2013: 49; Ebert & Dando, 2014: 57, fig.; da Silva et al., 2015: 246; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 145; Weigmann, 2016: 848.

South Africa voucher material: SAIAB 6247 [former ORI 2789], SAIAB 27436.

South African distribution: KZN coast to the border with Mozambique.

Remarks: Often confused with A. vulpinus . Caught commercially in various fisheries ( NPOA, 2013).

Conservation status: EN (2019).