Common thresher
Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788)
The common thresher (Alopias vulpinus) is a fish in the sharks and rays subgroup, belonging to the family Alopiidae in the order Lamniformes. It is classified in the class Elasmobranchii, phylum Chordata and kingdom Animalia, and its scientific name authority is (Bonnaterre, 1788).
Quick facts about the common thresher
The global IUCN Red List assessment lists the common thresher as Vulnerable (VU), an IUCN threatened category. Other English names for the common thresher include slasher, sea fox, tresher, sea ape and thresher.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 6 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 274 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Reproduction
- Live birthsrc for Reproduction
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the common thresher
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common thresher live?
Not recorded
What is the common thresher?
The common thresher (Alopias vulpinus), also known as Atlantic thresher, is the largest species of thresher shark, family Alopiidae, reaching 6 m (20 ft) in length. About half of its length consists of the elongated upper lobe of its caudal fin. With a streamlined body, short pointed snout, and modestly sized eyes, the common thresher resembles the pelagic thresher (A. pelagicus). It can be distinguished from the latter species by the white of its belly extending in a band over the bases of its pectoral fins. The common thresher is distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate waters, though it prefers cooler temperatures. It can be found both close to shore and in the open ocean, from the surface to a depth of 550 m (1,800 ft). It is seasonally migratory and spends summers at lower latitudes.
The long tail of the common thresher, the source of many fanciful tales through history, is used in a whip-like fashion to deliver incapacitating blows to its prey. This species feeds mainly on small schooling forage fishes such as herrings and anchovies. It is a fast, strong swimmer that has been known to leap clear of the water, and possesses physiological adaptations that allow it to maintain an internal body temperature warmer than that of the surrounding sea water. The common thresher has an aplacental viviparous mode of reproduction, with oophagous embryos that feed on undeveloped eggs ovulated by their mother. Females typically give birth to four pups at a time, following a gestation period of nine months.
Despite its size, the common thresher is minimally dangerous to humans due to its relatively small teeth and timid disposition. It is highly valued by commercial fishers for its meat, fins, hide, and liver oil; large numbers are taken by longline and gillnet fisheries throughout its range. This shark is also esteemed by recreational anglers for the exceptional fight it offers on hook-and-line. The common thresher has a low rate of reproduction and cannot withstand heavy fishing pressure for long, a case in point being the rapid collapse of the thresher shark fishery off California in the 1980s. With commercial exploitation increasing in many parts of the world, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed this species as vulnerable.
From the Wikipedia article “Common thresher” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_thresher&oldid=1367449524), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the common thresher endangered?
The common thresher is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the common thresher classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classElasmobranchii
- orderLamniformes
- familyAlopiidae
- genusAlopias
- SpeciesAlopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Synonyms Alopecias barrae, Alopecias chilensis, Alopecias longimana, Alopecias vulpes, Alopias caudatus, Alopias greyi, Alopias macrourus, Alopias vulpes, Carcharias vulpes, Galeus vulpecula, Squalus alopecias, Squalus vulpes, Squalus vulpes, Squalus vulpinus, Vulpecula marina
Other names and names in other languages (230)
- Atlantic thresherEnglish
- Common thresher sharkEnglish
- Common thresher sharkEnglish
- Fox sharkEnglish
- GrayfishEnglish
- Green thresherEnglish
- Long-tailed sharkEnglish
- Sea apeEnglish
- Sea foxEnglish
- SlasherEnglish
- SwingletailEnglish
- SwiveltailEnglish
- Thintail thresherEnglish
- ThrasherEnglish
- Thrasher sharkEnglish
- ThresherEnglish
- Thresher sharkEnglish
- Thresher sharkEnglish
- Thresher shark or bigeye thresherEnglish
- TresherEnglish
- Tresher sharkEnglish
- Tresher shark, tresherEnglish
- Whip-tailed sharkEnglish
- Whiptail sharkEnglish
- Zorro thresher sharkEnglish
- fynstert-sambokhaaiAfrikaans
- KalbArabic
- القرش الثّعلبArabic
- JarjurArabic
- Qatwa al baharArabic
- Watwa albaharArabic
- fuina de marAsturian
- louarn-vôrBreton
- GuillaCatalan
- Pesciu volpeCorsican
- liškoun obecnýCzech
- Žralok mlatec obecnýCzech
- Lluynog morWelsh
- llwynog môrWelsh
- Llwynogod MôrWelsh
- rævehajDanish
- Almindelig rævehajDanish
- RaevehaiDanish
- TærskerDanish
- DrescherGerman
- DrescherhaiGerman
- FuchshaiGerman
- Gemeiner FuchshaiGerman
- Gewöhnlicher FuchshaiGerman
- LangschweifGerman
- SeefuchsGerman
- ކަނޑި މިޔަރުDivehi
- ΣκυλόψαροGreek
- ΑλεπούGreek
- ΑλεπούσκυλοςGreek
- ΑλεπόσκυλοςGreek
- Κοινός αλωπίαςGreek
- Αλεπού της θάλασσαςGreek
- AleposkylosGreek
- SkylópsaroGreek
- zorroSpanish
- AzotadorSpanish
- Chichi espadaSpanish
- ColetoSpanish
- ColudoSpanish
- Coludo PintoSpanish
- GrilloSpanish
- GuadañaSpanish
- peix espasaSpanish
- Peje sableSpanish
- Peje zorraSpanish
- Peje zorroSpanish
- PejerraboSpanish
- Pez espadaSpanish
- Pez paloSpanish
- pez zorroSpanish
- PichirataSpanish
- Rabo de zorraSpanish
- rabosaSpanish
- RaposaSpanish
- Raposa marinaSpanish
- Tiburón pez zorroSpanish
- Tiburón ratónSpanish
- Tiburón zorroSpanish
- tiburón zorro comúnSpanish
- zorra de marSpanish
- zorro blancoSpanish
- Harilik RebashaiEstonian
- KettuhaiFinnish
- RevaháurFaroese
- RevahávurFaroese
- FauxFrench
- la fauxFrench
- Loup de merFrench
- péi aspasu ratouFrench
- Pèis ratoFrench
- poisson épéeFrench
- Poisson-épéeFrench
- renardFrench
- renard de merFrench
- renard marinFrench
- Requin renardFrench
- Requin renard communFrench
- Requin-renard communFrench
- singe de merFrench
- touille à l'épéeFrench
- Te bakoaGilbertese
- Te kimoaGilbertese
- כרישועל זנבתןHebrew
- LisicaCroatian
- Pas macunCroatian
- Pas sabljasCroatian
- SabljorepCroatian
- TopoItalian
- allopia coda lungaItalian
- allopia volpe marinaItalian
- pavoneItalian
- pavone di mareItalian
- Pei ratuItalian
- pesce bandieraItalian
- pesce banneraItalian
- pesce pavoneItalian
- pesce sorcioItalian
- Pesce spadaItalian
- pesce volpeItalian
- Pesce volpe comuneItalian
- pescio rattoItalian
- Pesciu rattuItalian
- pisce surciItalian
- Pisci banneraItalian
- pisci cuda longaItalian
- pisci cudutoItalian
- Pisci cudutuItalian
- pisci sciabula turcaItalian
- Pisci surciItalian
- RattoItalian
- SorcioItalian
- Squalo volpeItalian
- Squalo volpe comuneItalian
- Surci 'mperialiItalian
- VolpeItalian
- volpe di mareItalian
- マオナガJapanese
- ma-onagaJapanese
- Mao-nagaJapanese
- nadebukaJapanese
- nezumezameJapanese
- onagazameJapanese
- 흰배환도상어Korean
- paprastoji jūrų lapėLithuanian
- SantiraMalagasy
- Mangō ripiMāori
- Mango-ripiMāori
- BudenbMaltese
- PixxivolpiMaltese
- revehaiNorwegian Bokmål
- voshaaiDutch
- revehaiNorwegian Nynorsk
- kosogonPolish
- lis morskiPolish
- româoPortuguese
- arequimPortuguese
- Cação-penaPortuguese
- Cação-raposaPortuguese
- peixe alecrimPortuguese
- peixe cavalloPortuguese
- peixe raposoPortuguese
- peixe ratoPortuguese
- peixe zorraPortuguese
- Peixe-ratoPortuguese
- RabilongoPortuguese
- RaposoPortuguese
- romanoPortuguese
- RomãoPortuguese
- tubarâo raposoPortuguese
- Tubarão-raposaPortuguese
- Tubarão-raposoPortuguese
- Tubarão-zorraPortuguese
- Zoro cauda longaPortuguese
- ZorraPortuguese
- zorro cauda longaPortuguese
- Zorro-cauda-longaPortuguese
- Rechin-vulpeRomanian
- Лисья акулаRussian
- Морская лисицаRussian
- Лисица морская обыкновеннаяRussian
- Обыкновенная морская лисицаRussian
- морская лисица обыкновеннаяRussian
- Обыкновенная акула-лисицаRussian
- акула-лисицаRussian
- акула-лисица обыкновеннаяRussian
- lisitska morskayiaRussian
- morska lisicaSlovenian
- PeshkdhelpënAlbanian
- peshkaqeni bishtshpatëAlbanian
- peshkaqeni dhelpërAlbanian
- PeshkdhelperAlbanian
- peshku dhelpërAlbanian
- Pas lisicaSerbian
- Psina lisicaSerbian
- rävhajSwedish
- raefhajenSwedish
- KarageSwahili
- Papa KinengoSwahili
- Papa KinengweSwahili
- Ma'o AeroTahitian
- ปลาฉลามหางยาวThai
- Toke kimoaTokelauan
- SapanTurkish
- sapan baligiTurkish
- sapan balığıTurkish
- Sapan köpekbaligiTurkish
- tilki baligiTurkish
- tilki balığıTurkish
- Акула лисячаUkrainian
- Лисица морскаяUkrainian
- Звичайна морська лисицяUkrainian
- Акула-лисиця звичайнаUkrainian
- Cá Nhàm đuôi dàiVietnamese
- Tchissouéndjivif
- 狐鮫Chinese
- 弧形長尾鯊Chinese
- 弧形长尾鲨Chinese
- 狐形长尾鲨Chinese
- 狐鯊Chinese
- 狐鲛Chinese
- 長尾沙Chinese
- 長尾鯊Chinese
- 长尾沙Chinese
- 长尾鲨Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common thresher
Other species in the same genus Alopias.
CompareCommon thresher vs WhiptailCommon thresher vs Fox sharkCommon thresher vs Alopias exigua
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common thresher?
The common thresher is a fish in the sharks and rays subgroup. It belongs to the family Alopiidae in the order Lamniformes.
What is the scientific name of the common thresher?
The scientific name of the common thresher is Alopias vulpinus, in the genus Alopias.
Is the common thresher endangered?
The common thresher is listed as Vulnerable (VU) in the global IUCN Red List assessment, which is an IUCN threatened category.
What other names does the common thresher have?
The common thresher is also called slasher, sea fox, tresher, sea ape and thresher.
What class does the common thresher belong to?
The common thresher belongs to the class Elasmobranchii, within the phylum Chordata and kingdom Animalia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common thresher (Alopias vulpinus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-thresher
“Common thresher (Alopias vulpinus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-thresher.
@misc{common_thresher_2026,
title = {Common thresher (Alopias vulpinus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-thresher},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}