William Toby White

CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere Flagship · Australian National Fish Collection

Phylogenomic analysis of large genome-wide sequence data sets can resolve phylogenetic tree topologies for large species groups, help test the accuracy of and improve resolution for earlier multilocus studies and reveal the level of agreement or concordance within partitions of the genome for various tree topologies. Here we used a target-capture a...

Body size is an important species trait, correlating with life span, fecundity, and other ecological factors. Over Earth’s geological history, climate shifts have occurred, potentially shaping body size evolution in many clades. General rules attempting to summarize body size evolution include Bergmann’s rule, which states that species reach larger...

Patterns of genetic connectivity can be used to define the geographic boundaries of fishes and underpin management decisions. This study used a genetic multi-marker approach to investigate the population structure of scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) in the Indo–Pacific. Samples from 541 S. lewini were collected from 12 locations across the In...

Centrophorus uyato (Rafinesque, 1810) has a complicated nomenclatural history which has led to multiple scientific names being ascribed to this species. In the Mediterranean Sea, and elsewhere in its range, this species was previously referred to as C. granulosus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801). The first paper in this revision series clarified that C. g...

Adult specimens, additional juvenile specimens, egg cases and embryos were used to provide a more detailed anatomical description of the Kerguelen sandpaper skate Bathyraja irrasa, a species of skate endemic to the Kerguelen Plateau and listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The morphological and meristic data reveal a rel...

The giant freshwater whipray Urogymnus polylepis is a threatened species that is vulnerable to riverine and coastal marine pressures. Despite its threatened status, the range of U. polylepis is still being determined. In this study, photographic evidence of U. polylepis in Myanmar was provided through market surveys (2017–2018), and social media (S...

Previous examination of the mitochondrial NADH2 gene and morphological characteristics led to the resurrection of Scoliodon macrorhynchos as a second valid species in the genus, in addition to S. laticaudus. This study applied an integrated taxonomic approach to revisit the classification of the genus Scoliodon based on new materials from the Malay...

Assessing the feeding patterns of sharks provides insight into ecological interactions. Three coastal sharks are common by-catch in the Gulf of Papua prawn fishery in Papua New Guinea. The diets of Carcharhinus coatesi (n = 122), Rhizoprionodon acutus (n = 83) and Rhizoprionodon taylori (n = 177) were assessed using stomach content analysis. Teleos...

• Shark-like rays (Order Rhinopristiformes) are among the most threatened families of marine fish, yet little is known about their populations. These rays are normally taken as opportunistic catch in fisheries targeting other species and are thus poorly reported. One exception is the Indonesian tangle net fishery, which targets shark-like rays. • M...

The charismatic trumpetfishes, goatfishes, dragonets, flying gurnards, seahorses, and pipefishes encompass a recently defined yet extraordinarily diverse clade of percomorph fishes-the series Syngnatharia. This group is widely distributed in tropical and warm-temperate regions, with a great proportion of its extant diversity occurring in the Indo-P...

The conservation of threatened elasmobranchs in tropical regions is challenging due to high local reliance on aquatic and marine resources. Due primarily to fishing pressure, river sharks (Glyphis) and sawfishes (Pristidae) have experienced large population declines in the Indo-Pacific. Papua New Guinea (PNG) may offer a refuge for these species, a...

Blue sharks (Prionace glauca) are recognised as one of five key pelagic shark species in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) due to their frequent incidental catch in tuna and billfish longline fisheries. Given their importance in the region, the aim of this study was to investigate the life history of this species for use in future population...

• One-third of all elasmobranch species currently known to occur in Papua New Guinea are taken as bycatch in the Gulf of Papua trawl fishery. An ecological risk assessment was conducted on the 16 species of sharks and 23 species of rays caught by the fishery. • Eight species were classified to be at low risk, 28 species were at medium risk while th...

To evaluate the species diversity and strengthen the taxonomic identification of elasmobranchs in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, a study was conducted in the southeast coastal region between January 2016 and March 2018. Using morphological and genetic identification techniques, this study presents 22 species from the region. Thirteen of these are n...

• Sawfish (Pristidae) are considered to be among the most threatened families of elasmobranch (sharks and rays). There is a need to gather information on the status of poorly known sawfish populations to assist in global recovery initiatives. • This study used interviews with local fishers to investigate the presence of sawfish in southern Papua Ne...

The species of Mustelus Linck, 1790 occurring in the northern Indian Ocean are revised and a new species, Mustelus andamanensis sp. nov., is formally described. Previously considered to be conspecific with M. mosis Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1899, the new species is currently only known from the Andaman Sea. The Red Sea and Arabian Sea populations of Mu...

Raja africana Capapé, 1977 is a primary junior synonym of Raja africana Bloch & Schneider, 1801 and therefore permanently invalid (International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, article 57.2) and must be replaced. Raja africana Bloch & Schneider, 1801 was first described by Bloch & Schneider (1801: 367), based on a specimen from Guinea, West Africa...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149415.].

The use of high-throughput sequencing technologies to produce genome-scale datasets was expected to settle some long-standing controversies across the Tree of Life, particularly in areas where short branches occur at deep timescales. Instead, these datasets have often yielded many well-supported but conflicting topologies, and highly variable gene-...

The teeth of all vertebrates predominantly comprise the same materials, but their lifespans vary widely: in stark contrast to mammals, shark teeth are functional only for weeks, rather than decades, making lifelong durability largely irrelevant. However, their diets are diverse and often mechanically demanding, and as such, their teeth should maint...

Exon markers have a long history of use in phylogenetics of ray-finned fishes, the most diverse clade of vertebrates with more than 35,000 species. As the number of published genomes increases, it has become easier to test exons and other genetic markers for signals of ancient duplication events and filter out paralogs that can mislead phylogenetic...

Descriptions of egg cases and hatchlings of the Bali catshark Atelomycterus baliensis and the Australian marbled catshark A. macleayi are provided. Comparisons are made with two of their congeners, banded sand catshark A. fasciatus and coral catshark A. marmoratus. The Atelomycterus egg cases have the same general morphology, i.e., elongate with an...

There is increasing concern about the conservation and sustainable use of hammerhead sharks nationally and globally, with documented declines in many parts of their range. Several hammerhead species have been recently added to international conventions such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and the Convention o...

Two modes of oviparity are known in cartilaginous fishes, (1) single oviparity where one egg case is retained in an oviduct for a short period and then deposited, quickly followed by another egg case, and (2) multiple oviparity where multiple egg cases are retained in an oviduct for a substantial period and deposited later when the embryo has devel...

Size limits are a common fisheries management strategy that are applied to many fisheries and species. Most size limits use a minimum legal size to protect adult fish as per the “reproduce at least once” paradigm, where stock collapse becomes impossible if every adult can produce one spawner prior to harvest. These approaches can be useful in fishe...

Exon markers have a long history of use in phylogenetics of ray-finned fishes, the most diverse clade of vertebrates with more than 35,000 species. As the number of published genomes increases, it has become easier to test exons and other genetic markers for signals of ancient duplication events and filter out paralogs that can mislead phylogenetic...

It can be challenging to identify the forces that drive speciation in marine environments for organisms that are capable of widespread dispersal because their contemporary distributions often belie the historical processes that were responsible for their initial diversification. In this contribution we explore the likely sequence of events responsi...

The silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) is one of the most heavily fished tropical shark species globally, and currently there is increasing concern for its conservation status. However, large differences and ambiguity in life history parameter estimates among regions complicates its conservation and fisheries management. Using a Leslie matrix m...

A new genus and species of catshark is described based on a single specimen collected off Ambon in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. Akheilos suwartanai belongs to the subfamily Schroederichthyinae which differs from the other catsharks in a combination of: similar sized dorsal fins, supraorbital crests present, pseudosiphon present on clasp...

As the state of non-marine aquatic environments (freshwater and estuarine environments with salinities ≤ 30 ppt) continues to decline globally, there is increasing concern for elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) that use them at critical stages of their life history. Due to a range of impediments including unresolved taxonomy, lack of fisheries data, a...

White et al. (2019) described a new species of whaler shark represented by only three specimens from South-east Asia, all collected prior to 1934. They proposed the nomen Carcharhinus obsolerus with the justification of: “The specific name is Latin for ‘extinct’ (obsolerus) in allusion to the fact that the species has not been recorded in many deca...

Research-for-development (R4D), as a mode of foreign aid, is a practical way to support developing countries. However, few studies have assessed the scientific impacts of R4D projects. Here, we applied an integrated assessment approach to evaluate the scientific impact of research projects commissioned by the Australian Centre for International Agr...

The elasmobranch bycatch of the Gulf of Papua Prawn Fishery is investigated in detail for the first time. Fisheries observers collected data on the elasmobranch bycatch from a total of 403 trawl sets (1,273 hrs) in the Gulf of Papua. A total of 40 species of elasmobranchs were recorded ranging in size from a 12 cm disc width stingray to a 350 cm to...

A checklist of the marine and estuarine fishes of New Ireland Province is presented, with special emphasis on Kavieng District, combining both previous and new records. After the recent KAVIENG 2014 expedition, a total of 1325 species in 153 families were recorded from the region. The largest families are the Gobiidae, Pomacentridae, Labridae, Serr...

Shark-like rays (Order Rhinopristiformes) are among the most threatened families of marine fish. Yet little is known about their populations, as these rays are normally taken as opportunistic catch in fisheries targeting other species and are thus poorly reported. One exception is the Indonesian tangle net fishery, which targets shark-like rays. Ma...

Carcharhinus obsolerus is described based on three specimens from Borneo, Thailand and Vietnam in the Western Central Pacific. It belongs to the porosus subgroup which is characterised by having the second dorsal-fin insertion opposite the anal-fin midbase. It most closely resembles C. borneensis but differs in tooth morphology and counts and a num...

Vertebral and tooth count summaries for the genus Carcharhinus. Ranges for number of precaudal and total centra, and upper and lower teeth (with number of specimens included in range in parantheses) for members of the genus Carcharhinus. Species groupings follow a combination of information provided in [19] and molecular results in [30]; note these...

Comparison of the tooth and jaw morphology. Key tooth and jaw characters useful for distinguishing between Carcharhinus obsolerus, Carcharhinus cerdale/porosus, Carcharhinus borneensis and Carcharhinus macloti. (DOCX)

The silvertip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) is a reef-associated shark, with an intermittent distribution across the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Owing to global declines, the species is listed as Vulnerable under the International Union of Conservation for Nature Red List. Samples from 152 C. albimarginatus were collected from three locations: Papua...

Small-bodied coastal sharks are often caught as by-catch in fishing operations. Life-history information for these sharks is needed to ascertain the level at which these populations are potentially affected by fishing. This study determined the age, growth and maturity of Carcharhinus coatesi captured by prawn trawlers in the Gulf of Papua. Using v...

Citizen science provides valuable information about species distributions. The Shark Search Indo-Pacific project received photographs of devil rays (Mobula spp.) from the Solomon Islands that were identified as Kuhl’s devil ray (Mobula kuhlii). These records represent new knowledge about the range and distribution of a poorly known species in an un...

This study provides the first detailed investigation of the catches of the shark longline fishery in Papua New Guinea. Fisheries observers collected data on shark catches from a total of 318 longline sets between May and June 2014, before its closure in July 2014. In all, 14694 sharks were recorded with a total estimated biomass of 439 tonnes (Mg)....

In this paper we combine analyses of satellite telemetry and molecular data to investigate spatial connectivity and genetic structure among populations of shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) in and around Australian waters, where this species is taken in recreational and commercial fisheries. Mitochondrial DNA data suggest matrilineal substructure ac...

Coastal sharks with small body sizes may be among the most productive species of chondrichthyans. The Australian sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon taylori) is one of the most productive members of this group based on work in northern and eastern Australia. However, life history information throughout the remainder of its range is lacking. To address...

The narrow sawfish Anoxypristis cuspidata belongs to the most endangered family of chondrichthyan fishes, the sawfishes (Pristidae). This species has undergone significant de - clines in geographic range and abundance due to anthropogenic activities including fishing and habitat destruction. Very little is known of adult movements within its distri...

This study investigated variations in the composition and biomass of demersal fish assemblages over a 570-metre depth gradient on the temperate, lower west coast of Australia (32° S) in the south-eastern Indian Ocean. Fish assemblages were sampled using Baited Remote Underwater Stereo Video systems (stereo-BRUVs, n=284 deployments) from shallow wat...

Our study is the first detailed examination of species composition using DNA COI barcoding of elasmobranchs from an artisanal fishery of Papua New Guinea. The study is the first in the region to provide biomass estimates based on species confirmation following examination of dried fins. Over 20 species of elasmobranchs were identified from 623 fins...

An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) of Papua New Guinean waters is herein presented. The checklist is the result of a large biodiversity study on the chondrichthyan fauna of Papua New Guinea between 2013 and 2017. The chondrichthyan fauna of Papua New Guinea has historically been very poorly known due t...

Catch composition, landing patterns and biological aspects of sharks caught by commercial fishing fleet operating in the Andaman Sea were recorded from landing sites in Ranong province of Thailand over a period of 1 year. Of the 64 species previously reported in the existing Thailand checklist, only 17 species were recorded in this study. Shark lan...

An integrated taxonomic approach, combining both morphological and molecular data, was adopted to investigate the Hydrolagus lemures-ogilbyi group in the Indo-Australian region. Single mitochondrial markers (CO1 and NADH2) provided evidence supporting the separation of four distinct species in this group. However, detailed morphological data collec...

Leslie matrix models are an important analysis tool in conservation biology that are applied to a diversity of taxa. The standard approach estimates the finite rate of population growth (λ) from a set of vital rates. In some instances, an estimate of λ is available, but the vital rates are poorly understood and can be solved for using an inverse ma...

In the central west Pacific region, silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis) are commonly taken in fisheries, forming up to 95% of incidental elasmobranch bycatch. The present study examined the life history of silky sharks (n=553) from Papua New Guinean waters. Age was analysed using sectioned vertebrae, and a multimodel approach was applied to the...

This study assessed the presence and prevalence of multiple paternity (MP) in litters of grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) and scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) opportunistically caught in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Litter size between species were significantly different with an average of 3.3 pups for grey reef sharks and 17.2 pups...

Centrophorus specimens with a distinctive long-based first dorsal fin (long-finned species) have previously been considered to be Centrophorus lusitanicus first described from Portugal. Critical examination of the original description and illustration reveal that C. lusitanicus should be considered a junior synonym of C. granulosus. However, the sp...

Apristurus yangi, a new species of deepwater catshark, is described from Papua New Guinea based on two specimens collected during recent deepwater surveys. The new species belongs to the longicephalus-group which is characterised by its very long snout compared to members of the brunneus-group and spongiceps-groups. Apristurus yangi differs from it...

Descriptions of the egg cases of Dentiraja polyommata (n = 16) and Asymbolus pallidus (n = 44) are provided from egg cases collected from a commercial trawl fishery off Swain Reefs, central Queensland, Australia. Egg cases of D. polyommata are rectangular, convex and golden-tan in colour and those of A. pallidus elongate, vase-shaped and golden. To...

Information on how shark populations respond to fishing mortality (F) is critical to developing successful management and conservation strategies. However, data on catch, fishing effort and species abundance are often lacking for shark populations – preventing stock assessments from being conducted. Static demographic models circumvent this issue a...

Growth and maturity of the silvertip shark Carcharhinus albimarginatus from Papua New Guinea were estimated to form the basis of future population assessments. Samples were collected from commercial longline vessels targeting sharks in the Bismarck and Solomon Seas. A total of 48 C. albimarginatus—28 males (95–219 cm total length, TL) and 20 female...

Conservation and management of migratory species can be complex and challenging. International agreements such as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) provide policy frameworks, but assessments and management can be hampered by lack of data and tractable mechanisms to integrate disparate datasets. An assessment of scalloped (Sphyrna lewini) an...

A new species of lanternshark, Etmopterus samadiae (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae), is described from off northern Papua New Guinea, in the western Central Pacific Ocean. The new species resembles other members of the “Etmopterus lucifer” clade in having linear rows of dermal denticles and most closely resembles E. brachyurus from the western North Pa...

A new arhynchobatin skate, Notoraja sereti n. sp., is described based on three specimens collected from off Madang (Papua New Guinea) at depths of 800–980 m. This medium-size Notoraja skate shares with other velcro skates from the Western Pacific, N. alisae, N. fijiensis, N. inusitata and N. longiventralis, a ventral surface covering of fine dentic...

DNA sequence data from mitochondrial genomes and c. 1000 nuclear exons were analysed for a complete taxon sampling of manta and devilrays (Mobulidae) to estimate a current molecular phylogeny for the family. The result- ing inferences were combined with morphological information to adopt an integrated approach to resolving the taxonomic arrangement...

The status of sawfishes (family Pristidae), and indeed most sharks and rays, in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is largely unknown due to the paucity of detailed catch and observational records available, both historic and contemporary. This paper provides the first comprehensive review of the published and unpublished literature on sawfish records in PNG....

Small-scale shark fisheries in Papua New Guinea have developed rapidly and are largely unmanaged. While shark species are vulnerable to overexploitation, local fishers who depend on shark fin for income also have limited alternative income options. This implies a difficult trade-off for policy makers between conservation and community welfare. A ca...

Sharks and rays are facing increasing anthropogenic pressure globally, including in the Pacific. However, data on their status and biodiversity are lacking for many Pacific Large Ocean Island States. This study aimed to construct a species checklist for the sharks and rays occurring in the Solomon Islands, review the human interactions with these s...