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SpeciesLamniformesAlopiidae
Sharks & rays

🦈Common thresher

Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788)

The common thresher, also known as Atlantic thresher, is the largest species of thresher shark, family Alopiidae, reaching 6 m (20 ft) in length. About half of its length consists of the elongated upper lobe of its caudal fin. With a streamlined body, short pointed snout, and modestly sized eyes, the common thresher resembles the pelagic thresher. It can be distinguished from the latter species by the white of its belly extending in a band over the bases of its pectoral fins. The common thresher is distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate waters, though it prefers cooler temperatures. It can be found both close to shore and in the open ocean, from the surface to a depth of 550 m (1,800 ft). It is seasonally migratory and spends summers at lower latitudes.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Measurements
7
vs you
≈ 5.6× your weight
Also called
Common Thresher Shark, Thresher shark, tresher shark, tresher
Conservation status
VUVulnerable

IUCN Red List assessment, 2022.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
348 kg
Body length
4.5 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
25 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Common thresher

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
348 kgmaximum recorded
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Body length
4.5 mrecord 5.73 m · FishBasetypical adult
FishBase
Other figures ↓

Record: largest individual on record

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

By sex

  • Female5.49 mFishBasev25.04
Maximum lifespan
25 yearsmaximum recorded
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Trophic level
4.5
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0

Diet
carnivoreaverage
Details ↓

From trophic level 4.5 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.

Danger to humans
harmless
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Volume l
348 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Common thresher yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

More

More about the Common thresher

In other languages
Requin-renard commun (fr), Alopias vulpinus (es), 長尾沙 (zh), Gemeiner Fuchshai (de), revehai (nb), voshaai (nl) … and 22 more languages
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