Smalleye pygmy shark
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| iSmalleye pygmy shark | ||||||||||||||||
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| Squaliolus aliae Teng, 1959 |
The smalleye pygmy shark, Squaliolus aliae, is a sleeper shark of the family Dalatiidae found in the western Pacific Ocean from Japan to northern Australia, at depths down to 2,000 m. Its length is up to 22 cm.
The smalleye pygmy shark is a very small dogfish characterized by its small eyes, with diameters about 46 to 70% of the interorbital width. The pper lip has a pair of prominent lateral papillae (rarely indistinct). This species is the only shark with a fin spine on its first dorsal fin (spine sometimes concealed by skin) but not on its second dorsal fin - the second dorsal fin is long-based and low, about twice the length of the first dorsal fin base. The first dorsal-fin base is closer to the pectoral fins than to the pelvic fins, and the caudal fin is nearly symmetrical, with a subterminal notch present.
It is possibly the smallest living shark. It feeds mainly on cephalopods and small midwater bony fishes. It probably makes diurnal vertical migrations from within 200 m of the surface at night down to about 2,000 m during the day.
Reproduction is ovoviviparous.
Coloration is dark brown to black, with pale fin margins.
[edit] References
- "Squaliolus aliae". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. July 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
