DIVE-SEEK field image · species photo unavailableshark · mackerel shark
Pelagic thresher
Alopias pelagicus
Deep-water thresher with a tail as long as its body, seen at dawn on Indo-Pacific seamount cleaning stations.
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Quick facts
The Pelagic thresher (Alopias pelagicus) is a marine species divers can encounter. Typical size: 270–330 cm. Usually seen at 18–30 m depth. Where to see it: Malapascua (January–December) and Cocos Island.
Summarised from DIVE-SEEK's recorded catalogue data; omitted values are not yet recorded.
Taxonomic rank
species
Typical size
270–330 cm (total_length)
Maximum size
365 cm
Typical depth
18–30 m
Maximum depth
300 m
Conservation status
Research in progress
Photography difficulty
5 /5
Activity pattern
Crepuscular at cleaning stations, otherwise diurnal in deep water.
Description
Accepted name confirmed via WoRMS (AphiaID 220019). Visits shallow seamount cleaning stations at dawn, spending the rest of the day in deep water. Conservation status not populated: no verified Red List reading recorded yet.
Habitat
Offshore pelagic, visiting seamounts and shallow banks to be cleaned.
Behaviour
Approaches cleaning stations at dawn and hovers for wrasse to service it; extremely sensitive to exhaled bubbles.
Diet
Small schooling fish and squid, stunned with the upper tail lobe.
Social behaviour
Solitary, occasionally several individuals at one cleaning station.
Photography notes
Low dawn light, long working distance and a bubble-shy subject. Wide angle from a low, still position; no strobes on approach.
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Where to see it
Destinations
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