Leafscale gulper shark

Leafscale gulper shark
Drawing by R. Mintern
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
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

Head.

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

• Centrophoridae

References

• White (2003). "Centrophorus squamosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2006. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 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.