Feeding habits of Grey sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon oligolinx Springer, 1964 in marine waters of eastern Hormozgan province

Feeding habits of Grey sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon oligolinx Springer, 1964 in coastal waters of eastern Hormozgan province from Bandar Sirik to Bandar Jask were studied by sampling 30 fish per month throughout one year. Mean values of fish total length and fish weight was 101.04 ± 4.09 cm and 1480.11 ± 94.71 g. The highest value of gastrosomatic index (GSI) was in spring and the lowest was in winter. In other words, the greatest weight of fish stomachs was observed in March, spring, so the highest feeding intensity was in spring for this species in coastal waters of eastern Hormozgan province. Vacuity index (VI) was calculated 30.14 ± 5.72 for R. oligolinx which ranks this species as a relatively edacious species. Season based analysis of VI data revealed the lowest amount of VI or in the other words the highest number of full stomachs in spring. Index of food preference showed that fishes and shrimps constitute 54.09 and 37.72 percent of stomach contents, respectively and were the main prey and the second priority prey consumed by this species. Moreover, relative length of gut was 1.41± 0.02 indicating its carnivorous feeding regime. The present findings contributed to a better understanding of feeding habits of this less known and near to threatened species and helped to realize its position in the marine food web.