Velvet dogfish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikipedia:How to read a taxobox
How to read a taxobox
Velvet dogfish
Conservation status
Data deficient
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Squaliformes
Family: Dalatiidae
Genus: Scymnodon
Species: S. squamulosus
Binomial name
Scymnodon squamulosus
(Günther, 1877)
Synonyms
  • Centrophorus squamulosus
  • Centroscymnus squamulosus
  • Zameus squamulosus

The velvet dogfish, Scymnodon squamulosus, is a harmless sleeper shark of the family Dalatiidae, found circumglobally between latitudes 64° N and 48° S, from the surface to 2,000 m. Its length is up to 84 cm.

The velvet dogfish is a black in color, with small dorsal fin spines, a moderately long snout, small lanceolate teeth without cusplets in the upper jaw and large high, knife-cusped cutting teeth in the lower jaw. The mouth is moderately wide and nearly transverse, and the caudal fin has a strong subterminal notch and short lower lobe.

Its flesh is utilized dried salted for human consumption and for fishmeal.

Reproduction is ovoviviparous.

[edit] References