Pygmy shark
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 Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
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| Euprotomicrus bispinatus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) |
The pygmy shark, Euprotomicrus bispinatus, the smallest of all the shark species, is a sleeper shark of the Dalatiidae family, the only member of the genus Euprotomicrus, found in subtropical and warm temperate oceans worldwide, from the surface to depths of 1,800 m. Their length is up to about 27 cm for females and about 22 cm for males.
The pygmy shark has a large head and underslung jaw, strangely shaped caudal fin, and a very small first dorsal fin set far back on the body. The shark has no spines in front of the dorsal fins. The shark is black with a slightly paler belly and white borders to the fins.
The lower body is luminescent, which is thought to help in disguising the fish's dark silhouette from upward-looking predators below.
The shark undertakes vertical migrations from the lower levels of its depth range to the surface each night. They follow the deep-water crustaceans, squids, and bony fish which rise at the same time to feed on surface plankton in comparative safety.
Pygmy sharks are ovoviviparous and produce about 8 young in each litter.
[edit] References
- Burgess (2005). Euprotomicrus bispinatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Euprotomicrus bispinatus (TSN 160718). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 18 April 2006.
- "Euprotomicrus bispinatus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 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
- Timothy C. Tricas & others, Sharks & Rays, (Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, London, UK 1997) ISBN 0-00-220104-6
