Leafscale gulper shark
| Leafscale gulper shark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Drawing by R. Mintern | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Order: | Squaliformes |
| Family: | Centrophoridae |
| Genus: | Centrophorus |
| Species: | C. squamosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Centrophorus squamosus Bonnaterre, 1788 | |
 | |
| Range of leafscale gulper shark (in blue) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Centrophorus ferrugineus Meng, Hu & Li, 1982 | |
The leafscale gulper shark, Centrophorus squamosus, is a dogfish of the family Centrophoridae. It was the first described species in the genus Centrophorus, which now contains 13 species.
Physical characteristics
The leafscale gulper shark has no anal fin, two dorsal fins with spines, the first dorsal being relatively low and long, large eyes, and rough leaf-like denticles. Its maximum length is 158 cm.
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic around continental slopes from Iceland south to the Cape of Good Hope, Western Indian Ocean around Aldabra Islands, and western Pacific around Honshū, Japan, the Philippines, south-east Australia, and New Zealand.
Habits and habitat
The leafscale gulper shark lives near the bottom between 230 and 2,360 meters, but usually below 1,000 meters. Also occurs pelagically in much deeper water. It probably feeds on fish and cephalopods.
It is ovoviviparous with a maximum of 5 young per litter.
Its meat is utilized dried and salted for human consumption and as fishmeal.
See also
References
- White (2003). Centrophorus squamosus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 9 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable
- "Centrophorus squamosus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 February 2006.
- FAO Species Catalogue Volume 4 Parts 1 and 2 Sharks of the World
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). "Centrophorus squamosus" in FishBase. May 2006 version.