Longnose velvet dogfish
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 Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
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| Centroscymnus crepidater (Barbosa du Bocage & de Brito Capello, 1864) |
The longnose velvet dogfish, Centroscymnus crepidater, is a sleeper shark of the family Dalatiidae, found circumglobally in southern hemisphere subtropical seas, at depths of between 230 and 1,500 m. It reaches a length of 130 cm.
The longnose velvet dogfish has two dorsal fins of approximately equal size and shape, with a small spine in front of each. It has a long pointed snout, lanceolate upper teeth and triangular lower teeth with straight (not oblique) cusps, and the clefts at the side of the mouth curve forward and almost meet on the centreline of the snout.
Coloration is black or blackish brown.
The longnose velvet dogfish is ovoviviparous with 4 - 8 young in a litter.
It feeds mainly on fish and cephalopods.
The flesh is high in mercury, and is utilized as fishmeal and a source of squalene.
[edit] References
- "Centroscymnus crepidater". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
