Southernmost record of the whitetip reef shark Triaenodon obesus (Carcharhiniformes, Carcharhinidae) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Ramírez Segura B.; Alemán Mejía S.; Luque Sanchez C. · Revista Peruana de Biologia (2025) · DOI: 10.15381/rpb.v32i3.30942

Resumen

This study reports the occurrence of Triaenodon obesus (Rüppell, 1837) based on morphological characteristics and DNA sequence analyses of the COI and 16S rRNA genes. In August 2024, a 132 cm total length specimen was captured by spearfishing at Punta Mero, Tumbes (northern Peru). The specimen exhibited a short, rounded snout; the first dorsal fin positioned closer to the pelvic than to the pectoral fins; and distinct white tips on the first and second dorsal fins. DNA sequence analyses of the COI and 16S rRNA genes revealed a high degree of similarity (>99.0%) with T. obesus sequences available in the BOLD and GenBank databases, whereas similarity with other shark species was lower than 96.3% and 98.0%, respectively. This finding increases the known shark diversity in Peruvian waters and extends the southern distribution range of T. obesus in the Tropical Eastern Pacific to Tumbes, northern Peru. © Los autores. Este artículo es publicado por la Revista Peruana de Biología de la Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Este es un artículo de acceso abierto, distribuido bajo los términos de la Licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es) que permite Compartir (copiar y redistribuir el material en cualquier medio o formato), Adaptar (remezclar, transformar y construir a partir del material) para cualquier propósito, incluso comercialmente