pondicherry shark

The Pondicherry Shark is a small and stocky gray shark. This species does not grow any longer than about one meter, or three feet, long. The shark was once found throughout IndoPacific coastal waters, from India and possibly extending to the Gulf of Oman into Southeast Asia, and is known to enter freshwater. It may also be found in rivers such as the Hooghli River and Saigon River.

In 2019, Discovery Channel’s Shark Week special, ‘Extinct or Alive: The Lost Shark,’ featured what seemed to be a potentially promising finding of a shark in a remote seasonal fishing village in Sri Lanka. While the finding was publicized as the rediscovery of the Pondicherry Shark, it was not accompanied by any molecular evidence. Based on the photos from that expedition, scientists are confident that they are photos of a different species, the Spot-tail Shark.