One of the 26 sharks on WAnimals
Cartilaginous fish · Lamniformes · Alopiidae
Alopias vulpinus
At high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term.
Its extraordinary upper tail lobe, which can be almost half its total body length, is used like a whip to stun and daze whole shoals of fish before eating them.
Weight
200 kg – 510 kg
Size
2.7 m – 6.1 m
Life expectancy
40 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Irregular activity
Active at irregular times, by day or night depending on circumstances.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
AI-generated images: illustrations, not photographs.
Sources consulted: Animal Diversity Web; Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife; IUCN Red List assessment; Marine Bio; Shark Guardian; Fishipedia; FishBase; Mexican Fish
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 20 of 96.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Grayfish — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
The grayfish is classified as vulnerable. Organisations such as the IUCN, WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programmes is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 17 protected areas — one reason why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Based on what we already know about grayfish.
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The pins mark the parks and dive sites where its presence is documented.
