Speartooth Shark

About the Speartooth Shark

The Speartooth shark is a very rare species found in both freshwater and saltwater. It is often found at the bottom floor of rivers. They are native to Western Pacific areas like northern Australia and New Guinea. The Speartooth shark is threatened by bycatch in commercial and recreational fishing activities and by possible habitat degradation which is decreasing their population. It is mainly caught by illegal gillnetting or hook and line fishing.

The Speartooth shark has a short, wide head and a flattened snout. It’s teeth on the upper jaw wide and triangular with serrated edges while it’s teeth on the lower jaw are narrow and spear-like with serrations only near the tip. Largest Speartooth shark found was that of a female with a length of 175cm. The large sets of jaws were examined and indicate that the size can go up to up to 2m and possibly 3m. The Speartooth sharks give birth to live young. Their size at birth is estimated to be 59cm.

Like other river sharks the Speartooth shark has been adapted to living in cloudy water with low visibility. They are suggested to be primarily fish eaters.

Very few specimens have ever been recovered. The estimated population of mature speartooths is about 2,500 individuals, and this this is as endangered species.

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