Shortnose spurdog
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| Squalus megalops (Macleay, 1881) |
The shortnose spurdog, Squalus megalops, is a dogfish, a member of the family Squalidae, found on the outer continental shelves and upper slopes in the eastern Indian Ocean endemic to Australia, at depths from 30 to 750 m. Its length is up to 71 cm.
The shortnose spurdog is a small dogfish with a short, angular snout and a small mouth almost as wide as the snout is long. The first dorsal fin spine is over the pectoral fins. The young are mostly pelagic off the outer continental shelves. Aggregations by sex are regularly observed. It feeds on bony fishes, shrimps and other crustaceans, cephalopods and other elasmobranchs. It is utilized for human consumption, the flesh most appealing dried salted or smoked, but is also consumed fresh.
Coloration is bronze-grey above, white below. The dorsal fins have black tips and white edges but markings are inconspicuous in adults.
Its reproduction is ovoviviparous, with 2 to 4 pups in a litter. The gestation period is 2 years.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- "Squalus megalops". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. July 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
