Atlantic angel shark
| Atlantic angel shark | ||||||||||||
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Atlantic angel shark ( Squatina dumeril ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Squatina dumeril | ||||||||||||
| Lesueur , 1818 |
The Atlantic Engelhai ( Squatina dumeril ), in the English language as sand devil ( dt. Referred to, sand Devil '), is a soil- Hai , which on the Atlantic coast of North America occurs.
Appearance and characteristics
The Atlantic angel shark can reach a maximum body length of about 150 cm. As with other angel sharks, the body is strongly flattened with very broad pectoral fins , which makes the animals look more like long rays in shape . However, the pectoral fins are clearly separated from the trunk, while in most rays they merge seamlessly into the body. They have two dorsal fins and no anal fin . The body has a pale blue to ash gray back color without any noticeable markings, dark to black spots can be present and young animals often have white spots. The underside is white with red spots and reddish fin borders. The dorsal fins and the caudal fin are darker than the dorsal color with light approaches. On the snout area and in other head areas there are slightly enlarged thorns that form groups in the adult animals. The back spines are reduced in the young animals, inconspicuous in the adult sharks.
The eyes are on the top of the head with a strongly concave surface between the eyes, the mouth is terminal, the outer nostrils are provided with short barbels . The injection holes are large and removed from the eyes 1.5 times the eye diameter. The number of lateral, lower gill openings is five. The nasal flaps and barbels are slightly fingered or have smooth edges, the lateral folds of the head are flat without triangular lobes.
distribution
The range of the Atlantic Angel Shark is in the coastal area of the northwest Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico along the coast of North America. Deposits on the coasts of Cuba , Nicaragua , Jamaica and Venezuela are not certain .
It lives in the outer peripheral area of the continental shelf mainly at depths between 40 and 250 meters, whereby it has been proven to be at depths of 1290 meters. The shark comes to the shallow water areas of the coasts mainly in summer and retreats to deeper water in winter.
Way of life
Like other angel sharks, it feeds primarily on small bony fish, molluscs and crustaceans , which it prey on lying on the ground as a lurker . Like all angel sharks, it is ovoviviparous - the eggs are hatched in the mother before the young are born alive. The females of this species give birth to up to 25 young animals in summer.
The animals reach sexual maturity with a body length of about 90 to 110 centimeters.
Danger
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN ) does not classify this type of endangerment due to insufficient data ( data deficient ). There is no targeted fishing for the species, but it is caught as by-catch by trawling. Due to the lack of data on reproduction and especially on the distribution area, the IUCN does not carry out an assessment.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b Squatina dumeril in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: Heupel, MR & Carlson, JK, 2006. Retrieved on December 18 of 2010.
literature
- Leonard Compagno , Marc Dando, Sarah Fowler: Sharks of the World . Princeton University Press , Princeton and Oxford 2005, p. 138 ISBN 978-0-691-12072-0
