Glyphis glyphis Müller & Henle, 1839

Speartooth Shark

Carcharias (Prionodon) glyphis Müller & Henle, 1839: 40, Pl. 14. Holotype: ZMB 5265 (stuffed). Type locality: probably Indian Ocean; Roberts (2007) suggested type locality may be the South China Sea.

Local synonymy: Carcharhinus glyphis— Filewood, 1973: 5 (PNG); Haines, 1979a: 11 (Purari Delta); Haines, 1979b: 94 (Purari Delta). Glyphis glyphis— Compagno, 1984: 509 (New Guinea); Kailola, 1987: 17 (PNG); Compagno et al., 2008: 213 (Port Romilly; Alligator Island, Fly River); Last & Stevens, 2009: 277 (PNG); Compagno et al., 2010: 41 (Port Romilly; Alligator Island, Fly River); Ebert et al., 2013: 482, pl. 69 (PNG); White et al., 2015a: 1, figs 2, 3 and 5 (Katatai); White et al., 2018: 166, figs (PNG). Glyphis cf glyphis— Roberts, 2007: 282 (New Guinea).

PNG voucher material: (3 spec.) CSIRO H 7670-01 (dried jaws), pregnant female ~ 2370–2600 mm TL, Katatai, Daru, Western Province, 9°01’15” S, 143°20’31” E, 23 Oct. 2014 ; KFRS E.218 (dried jaws), juvenile female ~ 1600–1800 mm TL, Port Romilly, Gulf Province, 7°33’ S, 144°50’ E, 12 Mar. 1966 ; KFRS E.405B (dried jaws), ~ 1600–1800 mm TL, Alligator Island, 200 miles upstream in Fly River, 7°19’ S, 141°11’ E, Feb. 1970. In Compagno et al. (2008), the KFRS dried jaws above were listed as LWF-E218 and LWF-E405B; loaned to LJV Compagno, possibly still in South African Museum in Cape Town.

Remarks: First recorded from PNG by Filewood (1973) as Carcharhinus glyphis (see comments in G. garricki remarks above). Recently recorded by White et al. (2015) from coastal fisheries catches in Western Province where it is caught occasionally.