Alopecias superciliosus R. T. Lowe, 1840 Alopias profundus Nakamura, 1935
The bigeye thresher (Alopias superciliosus) is a species of thresher shark, family Alopiidae, found in temperate and tropical oceans worldwide. Like the other thresher sharks, nearly half its total length consists of the elongated upper lobe of the tail fin. Its common name comes from its enormous eyes, which are placed in keyhole-shaped sockets that allow them to be rotated upward. This species can also be distinguished by a pair of deep grooves on the top of its head, from which its scientific name is derived.
The large eyes of the bigeye thresher are adapted for hunting in low light conditions. It is one of the few sharks that conduct a diel vertical migration, staying in deep water during the day and moving into surface waters at night to feed. To protect its sensitive brain and eyes from the temperature changes accompanying these movements, the bigeye thresher has a vascular exchange system called the rete mirabile around those organs. This species feeds mainly on fish and squid, which are stunned via whip-like strikes of the long tail. Bigeye threshers are ovoviviparous, usually bearing litters of two pups. The embryos are oophagous and feed on ova produced by the mother while inside the uterus. This shark is caught by commercial fisheries across its range; the meat is not highly regarded but the skin, fins, and liver oil are valued. It has been assessed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
^Yabumoto, Y. & Uyeno, T. (1994). "Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic fish faunas of Japan". The Island Arc. 3 (4): 255–269. Bibcode:1994IsArc...3..255Y. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1738.1994.tb00115.x.
^Rigby, C.L.; Barreto, R.; Carlson, J.; Fernando, D.; Fordham, S.; Francis, M.P.; Herman, K.; Jabado, R.W.; Liu, K.M.; Marshall, A.; Pacoureau, N.; Romanov, E.; Sherley, R.B.; Winker, H. (2019). "Alopias superciliosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T161696A894216. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T161696A894216.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^"Appendices". Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
The bigeyethresher (Alopias superciliosus) is a species of thresher shark, family Alopiidae, found in temperate and tropical oceans worldwide. Like the...
Eitner in 1995 showed that the closest relative of the pelagic thresher is the bigeyethresher (A. superciliosus), with which it forms a clade. The specific...
analyses have agreed that the common thresher is basal to the clade formed by the bigeyethresher and the pelagic thresher (A. pelagicus). The closest relative...
has an asymmetrical tail with a long upper lobe, similar to that of the thresher shark. The interior of its gill slits are lined with finger-like gill rakers...
witnessed and recorded captures of shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), bigeyethresher (Alopias superciliosus), spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), and sixgill...
"Observations on the Embryos of the Longfin Mako, Isurus paucus, and the BigeyeThresher, Alopias superciliosus". Copeia. 1983 (2). American Society of Ichthyologists...
The bigeye sand tiger (Odontaspis noronhai) is an extremely rare species of mackerel shark in the family Odontaspididae, with a possible worldwide distribution...
vessels called the rete mirabile ("miraculous net"). The common thresher and bigeyethresher sharks have a similar mechanism for maintaining an elevated body...
order Lamniformes and has been recorded in the bigeyethresher (Alopias superciliosus), the pelagic thresher (A. pelagicus), the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)...
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