Description:-

Thresher sharks are characterised by the extremely long upper caudal fin lobes. The pelagic thresher closely resembles, and is often confused with, the common thresher but can be distinguished from this species by the presence of dark patches of skin above the pectoral fin bases and by the absence of labial furrows.Dorsal profile of head convex and forehead moderately convex in lateral view; space between dorsal edges of eyes broadly convex; snout moderately long, conical; an inconspicuous horizontal groove on each side of head above gills; labial furrows absent; teeth small, over 29 rows in either jaw. Pectoral fins not falcate, straight and broad-tipped; terminal lobe of caudal fin very small. Dorsal surface coloration is blue-gray when alive or very fresh, fading to a pale gray shortly after death. The sides of the body are a light blue-gray (light gray shortly after death), with a white ventral surface. The gill and flank region may have a metallic silvery hue.

Threats:-

Not recorded, though common catch in the tuna and shark longline, and tuna drift net fisheries.

Remark:-

Utilized for human consumption, liver oil for vitamin extraction, hides for leather, and fins for shark-fin soup, this species is frequent in the chondrichthyan landings of India.

Habitat:-

Marine; oceanic and epipelagic species; usually mesopelagic in the tropics

Synonyms:-

References:-

Akhilesh K.V., K. K. Bineesh, A. Gopalakrishnan, J. K. Jena, V. S. Basheer and N. G. K. Pillai (2014). Checklist of Chondrichthyans in Indian waters. Mar. Biol. Ass. India, 56 (1), 109-120.
Bailly, N. (2015). Alopias pelagicus Nakamura, 1935. In: Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2015) FishBase. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=220019 on 2015-07-24
Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/1):1-249. Rome: FAO..
Joshi K.K., Balachandran K. and Raje S.G. (2008) Changes in the shark ?shery at Cochin.
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India, 50, 103–105.
Pillai P.P. and Honma M. (1978) Seasonal and areal distribution of thepelagic sharks taken by the tuna longline in the Indian Ocean. Bulletin of the Far Seas Fisheries Research Laboratory 16, 33–48.
Pillai P.P. and Parakkal, B. (2000). Pelagic sharks in the Indian Seas—their exploitation, trade, management and conservation. . CMFRI Special Publication, 70, 95 pp.
Reardon, M., Márquez, F., Trejo, T. & Clarke, S.C. 2009. Alopias pelagicus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 July 2015.
Venkataraman, K., John Milton, M.C. and Raghuram, K.P. 2003. Handbook on Sharks of Indian Waters: Diversity, Fishery status, Trade and Conservation. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.