Carcharhinus cautus (Whitley, 1945)

Nervous Shark

Galeolamna greyi cauta Whitley, 1945: 2, Fig. 2. Holotype AMS IB.1622 (teeth and skin). Type locality: Shark Bay, Western Australia.

Local synonymy: Carcharhinus melanopterus (in part)— Filewood, 1973: 5 (PNG); Carcharhinus cautus— Kailola, 1987: 16 ( Port Romilly; Sigabadu); Last & Stevens, 2009: 257 (PNG) ; White et al., 2018: 138, figs (PNG).

PNG voucher material: (2 spec.) KFRS E.009A (dried jaws), Hall Sound, Central Province; KFRS E.011, Kairuku area, Yule Island, Aug. 1964 .

Remarks: A set of dried jaws deposited in the KFRS collection confirmed as this species was originally identified as Carcharhinus melanopterus, suggesting that the two species were confused at this time. Not recorded during recent surveys.