Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata) and Spotted Gully Shark (T. megalopterus) Fact Sheet: Taxonomy & History

Taxonomy

• Family Triakidae: leopard shark, smoothhounds, hound sharks, smooth dogfishes, “gummy shark” (Castro 2011, except as noted)
  • Small to medium-sized sharks; usually 1 m to less than 2 m (about 3-6 ft) in length
  • Slender bodies
  • Wedge-shaped snout (Compagno 2003)
  • Found in temperature and tropical coastal waters (Soekoe 2016)
  • Live in shallow to moderately deep water over continental shelves
  • Young develop inside the female and are born; most species are placental
  • Harmless to humans (Compagno 2003)
  • Some species are important to small-scale, artisanal fisheries
  • As of 2011, there were 9 genera and more than 40 species in this taxonomic family
    • Seven species live in South Africa (Ebert and van Hees 2015)
• Genus Triakis
  • There are five, possibly six species, in this genus (Castro 2011; ITIS 2017)
  • The leopard shark is the only member of Triakis found in North America (Castro 2011)

Nomenclature

• Genus: Triakis (Love 1996; Ebert 2003; Castro 2011)
  • From the Greek triacis, tri, meaning “three,” and acis (akis), meaning “pointed” or “sharp”
    • Alludes to this shark’s 3-pointed teeth
• Species: T. semifasciata (Castro 2011)
  • Semifasciata is from the Latin semi and fasciata, meaning “half-banded”
    • Alludes to the dark bands or “saddles” appearing on the top (dorsal) half of this species’ body
• Species: T. megalopterus (Smith 1849)
  • Megalopterus is from the Greek megas, meaning “large,” and pteron, meaning “fin” or “wing” (Webster’s dictionary)

Synonyms

• Leopard shark (Compagno 2003; Castro 2011; Pietsch et al. 2012)
  • Triakis californicus or californica (Gray, 1851)
    • First proposed by Gray (1851) but without a description—invalid (Ebert 2003)
  • Mustelus felis (Ayres, 1854)
  • Triakis semifasciata originally described as Triakis semifasciatum (Girard, 1855)
• Spotted gully shark
  • Mustelus megalopterus (Smith 1849)
  • Includes Mustelus nigropunctatus (Smith, 1952) and M. natalensis (Steindachner, 1866) (Compagno 2003)

Common names

• Triakis semifasciata (Castro 2011)
  • “Leopard shark” (English)
    •  Alludes this shark’s dark spots and markings
  • “Leopardo,” “tiburón leopardo” (Spanish)
• Triakis megalopterus
  • “Spotted gully shark,” “sharptooth houndshark” (English)
  • “Spikkel sloothaai” (Afrikaans) (Compagno 1986)

Other colloquial or local names

• Leopard shark
  • “Tiger shark” or “catshark” (Smith 2001; Ebert 2003)

Fossil history and evolutionary relationships

• In southern California, fossil leopard sharks have been found in deposits over one million years old (Love 1996)
  • Remains have been widely found in Native American middens (Love 1996)

Closest known extant relatives (López et al. 2006; A. Lopez, personal communication)

• Leopard shark
  • Triakis scyllium, banded houndshark
• Spotted gully shark
  • Less certainty than for leopard shark; likely Scylliogaleus quecketti, flapnose houndshark, and Mustelus spp.

Note: This information describes sharks in a general sense and is not specific to Triakis species.

Source: Crawford (2008) throughout, except as noted

Culture, folklore, and history

• Pacific Islanders respected the shark for its power and majesty over the ocean realm
  • Believed sharks had spiritual powers; commonly, sharks mythologized to be embodiments of ancestors—might guide fishermen back to safe harbor (Solomon Islands)
  • Shark gods, such as Kauhuhu (Polynesia) and Ka’ahupahau (Hawaii)
  • Some wars fought over sharks (Marshall Islands) if one tribe perceived disrespect towards to the sacred shark
  • Practices of “shark calling,” where men would take a canoe to sea, use a rattle to attract a shark, and wrestle and club the shark
  • Shark-man myths; representative of two sides of human nature
• Western culture sensationalizes shark encounters
• “In Europe and the English-speaking parts of the world, sharks have been vilified as omens of evil, harbingers of bad luck, monsters and satanic creatures…” (Crawford 2008)
• European tradition has demonized sharks as far back as Greek mythology
• Fictional and nonfictional accounts of sharks attacking victims of shipwrecks
• 19^th century whaling crews resented sharks, which fed on whales that the sailors hunted and processed alongside their ships

Books

• Fiction
  • Jaws — Peter Benchley (1974)
  • Islands in the Stream (1970) and The Old Man and the Sea (1953) — Ernest Hemingway
• Non-fiction
  • Sharks of the World: A Fully Illustrated Guide – Dave Ebert, Sarah Fowler, and Marc Dando (2019)
  • Demon Fish – Juliet Eilperin (2012)
  • Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras of California – Dave Ebert (2003)

Television and film

• TV series and nature documentaries
  • Shark, BBC (2015)
  • The Secret Lives of Sharks and Rays, PBS (2003)
  • Shark Gordon, Animal Planet (2000-2002)
  • Shark Week, Discovery (ongoing)
• Film
  • Sharknado (2013)
    • Fantasy film in which storms transport vicious sharks to the streets of Los Angeles
  • Open Water (2003)
    • Based on a true story and more “true to life” than nearly all shark films; honeymooners spend 18 hours at sea after being left behind by dive boat
  • Deep Blue Sea (1999)
    • Scientists boosts the brain power of mako sharks in her quest to cure Alzheimer’s; includes uncommon “shark wrangler” character
  • Jaws of Death (1976)
    • Man given the ability to charm sharks; defends sharks against fishers, unscrupulous scientist, and greedy businessmen
  • Jaws (1975) and sequels (1978, 1983, 1987)
    • Great film that evoked people’s deep fears and an extraordinary public response, including the killing of many sharks by fishers
      • Also see blog article by Tobey Curtis, NOAA Fisheries shark scientist

Art

• Paintings
  • Prehistoric sharks — Ray Troll
  • South China Sea: Fishermen Throwing a Finned Thresher Shark Back into the Seas Amidst Heavy Swells and a Stiff Breeze — Steve Mumford (2002)
  • Watson and the Shark — John Singleton Copley (1778)
  • The Gulf Steam — Winslow Homer (1899)
  • Shark, Eekan Ee-oo from Drawings of Fishes from Malacca — Chinese School (c. 1805-1818)
• Sculpture
  • Headington house, England — John Buckley (1986)
• Mixed media
  • The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living — Damien Hirst (1991)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Chondrichthyes - cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays, skates, and chimeras)

Subclass: Elasmobranchii - elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, skates)

Order: Carcharhiniformes - ground sharks

Family: Triakidae (Gray, 1851) - houndsharks, smoothhound sharks, smooth dogfish sharks, gummy sharks, tope sharks, whiskery sharks

Genus: Triakis (Müller and Henle, 1838) - leopard and houndsharks

Species: Triakis semifasciata (Girard, 1855) - leopard shark
Species: Triakis megalopterus (Smith, 1839) - spotted gully shark, sharptooth houndshark

Sources: Compagno (2003); Castro (2011); Integrated Taxonomic Information System (2017)

A 19th century illustration of a spotted gully shark (with mouth detail below).

"Mustelus megalopterus." Plate 2 in Andrew Smith's 1849 book, Illustrations of the zoology of South Africa.

Image credit: Made available by the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Public domain.