Diagnosis

A rather large and slender, streamlined shark with a long pointed snout, notably long gill-slits (for a carcharhinid) and no interdorsal ridge. Eyes noticeably small; upper labial furrows well-developed.  First dorsal fin small (6 -10.2% of TL) with a rather short base, narrowly-rounted or acute apex, origin over or just behind the pectoral free-tips.  Pectoral fins short (ca. 13 - 18% TL) with quite acute tips; 2nd dorsal origin over or just poterior to anal fin origin, anal fin slightly larger than 2nd dorsal.  Teeth in both jaws essentially erect, with narrow cusps on broad crowns at the base; upper teeth margins finely serrated, lower teeth smooth.  Colour mid-grey above, fading ventrally to white with a rather indistinct horizontal band of darker pigment along the lighter belly- flanks;  tip of lower caudal lobe, pectoral, 2nd dorsal and anal fins dusky or black in sub-adults and adults but plain in juveniles.

Size

To 278 cm TL but typically to 250cm;  size at birth 50 to 80 cm.

Status and Distribution

Mediterranean Sea: Rather common in Southeastern Mediterranean, particularly from the southern reaches of the Sicilian Channel, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and eastwards to Israel and Lebanon; ranges through the Aegean but recorded rather infrequently. Reported on occasion from southwestern Sicily during high summer months; sporadically captured south of Malta and near the Isole Pelagie. Rare northwards, considered sporadic or exceptional in the higher Ionian Sea and Adriatic (not known from the latter in recent years and may now be absent). Can be confused with C. limbatus which shares a similar range.

Biology

An active, coastal or offshore shark found from the surface down to 75 m but generally shallower; often off sandy beaches (even to the surfline), near offshore banks and islands in rather clear waters. This species appears to have been first identified in the region based upon specimens from Tripoli, Libya (Tortonese, 1950). Spinner sharks feed primarily upon a range of pelagic and demersal fish, including small tunas, mackerel, sardines, mullet and jacks; also stingrays and cephalopods including octopi. They will charge vertically into schools of fish, spinning rapidly whilst doing so and terminating with spectacular, rotating leaps from the surface (hence their common name). This feeding activity is shared somewhat by the related blacktip shark C. limbatus, but to a lesser degree. These sharks will readily congregate in aggregations for feeding and may scavenge discard from fishing-boats. Movements of this species in Mediterranean waters may be highly seasonal (as off the Eastern USA and South Africa) and related both to sea temperature and prey migrations, but further studies are required to explicate the biology and ecology of this shark in the region, along with its relationship to Red Sea and Atlantic stocks.   Viviparous; litter size is 2 to 15 pups and related to the size of the mother (larger females carrying more offspring); gestation period 12 to 15 months; parturition inshore during summer off the North African coast. Females mature at 170-200cm TL; males at 159-203cm.