Taillight shark
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| Euprotomicroides zantedeschia Hulley & Penrith, 1966 |
The taillight shark, Euprotomicroides zantedeschia, is a rare sleeper shark of the Dalatiidae family, the only member of the genus Euprotomicroides, found in the subtropical south Atlantic Ocean off South Africa and Uruguay between latitudes 30° S and 37° S. Their length is up to about 42 cm.
The taillight shark is a small, compressed dogfish shark with a blunt snout, ear-shaped pectoral fins, and gill slits increasing greatly in width from front to back. The cloaca area has a large luminous gland not found in other sharks.
It is probably oceanic but is also found near the upper continental slope. The holotype was caught in a bottom trawl between 457 and 640 m, and a second specimen was collected in the open ocean near the surface at less than 25 m. Food is unknown but the powerful jaws and sharp teeth suggest that this species can take relatively large prey.
Coloration is brown with black underparts, with fin margins conspicuously white.
Taillight sharks are ovoviviparous.
[edit] References
- "Euprotomicroides zantedeschia". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. may 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
