Atlantic weasel shark

This particular species of weasel shark is slender with a moderately long snout, large eyes, and a short and small mouth.[5] It has small, serrated upper teeth and erect-cusped lower teeth.[5] It is identified by its light grey color and longitudinal yellow stripes on the sides of the body.[3][5] Of its two dorsal fins, the first fin, located in front of the pelvic fins, is larger than the second.[6] In addition, it has asymmetric caudal fins with precaudal pits.[6]

Common inshore and offshore along continental shelves of the eastern Atlantic, it can be found close to land in the surf zone from Mauritania to Angola.[5] It is also commonly found in tropical to warm-temperate waters around the Cape Verde Islands, reaching depths of 100 m.[4] It has been found in the following countries: Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. However, its presence has also been recorded on one occasion off the east coast of the United States, close to New England.[7]

One of the smaller species of shark, the largest recorded adult Atlantic weasel shark measured only 138 cm and weighed 11 kg,[2] which is believed to be their maximum size. Feeding primarily on cephalopods, including squid and octopuses,[4] it display slow growth rates as well as late maturity in their lifespan.[5] This shark is considered as a specialist feeder, preying on small bony fishes including soles and sardines in addition to cephalopods.[4] Mating season for this species occurs from March to May, while offspring are released from May to June.[2] These sharks are viviparous and give birth to live young which develop inside the parent's body with a yolk-sac placenta.[5][4] It gives birth to 1 to 4 pups per litter, averaging in 47 cm in length.[4] While males mature at 80 cm in length, females may mature between 75 cm and 90 cm in length.[2]

Atlantic weasel sharks are a common catch of small commercial fisheries in the eastern Atlantic and are mostly captured during spring and summer in fishing sites along the coast of Senegal.[4][2] Atlantic weasel sharks are caught using a variety of fishing gear, such as longlines, hook and line, gillnets, and bottom trawls.[3] As such, their meat is used either fresh or dried for human consumption and also processed into fishmeal.[4] At the moment, there are no conservation efforts in place to protect this species because catch levels are neither quantified nor monitored.[4]