Blind shark
| Blind shark | ||||||||||||
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Blind shark ( Brachaelurus waddi ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Brachaelurus waddi | ||||||||||||
| ( Bloch & Schneider , 1801) |
The blind shark ( Brachaelurus waddi ) is a maximum 120 cm long shark from the Brachaeluridae family, of which only the blue-gray blind shark ( Brachaelurus colcloughi ) belongs. It occurs exclusively on the South Australian coast between Queensland and New South Wales .
Appearance and characteristics
The blind shark reaches an average body length of over 60 cm and a maximum body length of around 1.20 m. It has a brown body color and is partially marked by white spots over the head, body and tail. The young have saddle-shaped spots. The ventral side is yellowish in color. The head has large nasal pits and the suction hole is also quite large, with distinct barbels in front of the comparatively small mouth.
The shark has a short, compressed body. It has an anal fin and two dorsal fins of about the same size that start very far back on the back. The first dorsal fin begins about the middle of the pelvic fin base, the second in front of the anal fin base. As with other nurse sharks, the caudal fin consists of a strong caudal stalk and a surrounding caudal border, with only a very small gap between the anal fin and the lower caudal fin.
Way of life
The blind shark is a predominantly nocturnal species in the area of the continental shelf, where it lives near the sea floor to the surface at depths of 0 to 140 m. During the day he hides in caves. The animals feed mainly on small fish, crabs, octopuses, bottom-living invertebrates and sea anemones.
It is viviparous, with the female giving birth to seven to nine young sharks with an average body length of 17 cm in November. The animals reach sexual maturity at a length of about 60 cm.
distribution
The blind shark is found only on the South Australian coast between Queensland and New South Wales . The preferred habitat make rocky seabed areas in the Tidenzone is (partly it is also used in rock pools before), he also lives in seagrass areas.
Existence and endangerment
In the IUCN Red List , the blind shark is listed as not threatened (“least concern”).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brachaelurus Waddi in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2015 Posted by: PM Kyne, MB Bennett, 2015. Accessed July 13, 2020th
literature
- Leonard Compagno , Marc Dando, Sarah Fowler: Sharks of the World. Princeton University Press , Princeton / Oxford 2005, ISBN 978-0-691-12072-0 , pp. 159-160.
