Biodiversity & Conservation

Tope shark - Galeorhinus galeus - Taxonomy and identification

Galeorhinus galeus

Image Davy Holt - An adult tope shark. Image width ca 150 cm.
Image copyright information

Distribution map

Galeorhinus galeus recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

Sightings Have you seen Galeorhinus galeus?
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  • UK_BAP

Taxonomy identification

Dictionary Icon Taxon Dictionary icon Latin English equivalent or translation
Phylum Chordata - Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Class Elasmobranchii - Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Order Carcharhiniformes
Family Triakidae
Genus Galeorhinus
Authority: (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms: (since 1950) None

Key Icon Identifying features

  • Slender hound shark reaching up to 190 cm in length.
  • Shiny greyish-brown dorsal colouring and paler ventral surface.
  • A long and pointed snout with large, oval, distinctly horizontal eyes.
  • Similar sized second dorsal and anal fin.
  • The caudal lobe is as long as the rest of the fin.

Additional information icon Additional information

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This review can be cited as follows:

Morvan Barnes 2008. Galeorhinus galeus. Tope shark. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 11/09/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/taxonomyidentification.php?speciesID=3368>