Triaenodon obesus (Rüppell, 1837)

Whitetip Reef Shark

Carcharias obesus R ̹ppell, 1837: 64, pl. 18 (fig. 2). Lectotype: SMF 3149 (stuffed); lectotype designation by Klausewitz (1960). Type locality: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea.

Local synonymy: Triaenodon obesus: Smith, 1953: 511, fig. 13a; Bass et al., 1975b: 24, fig. 16; Compagno, 1984b: 536, fig.; Bass et al., 1986: 86, fig. 9.35; Compagno, 1988a: 7; Compagno et al., 1989: 64, pl.; Compagno, 1999: 120; Compagno et al., 2005: 321, fig., pl. 53; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 500, fig., pl. 64; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 146; Weigmann, 2016: 863.

South Africa voucher material: SAIAB 6269.

South African distribution: Northern KZN.

Remarks: A wide-ranging tropical inshore species of the Indian and Pacific oceans that occasionally occurs in waters of northern KZN.

Conservation status: VU (2020).