Nail shark

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Nail shark
Drawing of a nail shark, from Oceanic Ichthyology by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean, published 1896.

Drawing of a nail shark, from Oceanic Ichthyology by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean , published 1896.

Systematics
without rank: Sharks (selachii)
Superordinate : Squalomorphii
Order : Echinorhiniformes
Family : Cuticle Sharks (Echinorhinidae)
Genre : Cuticle Sharks ( Echinorhinus )
Type : Nail shark
Scientific name
Echinorhinus brucus
( Bonnaterre , 1788)

The bramble shark ( Echinorhinus brucus ) is one of two species from the family of Echinorhinidae.

features

Echinorhinus brucus is a large shark (average size approx. Two meters, maximum size approx. 3.10 meters) with two dorsal fins offset towards the tail and without fin spines. The nail shark got its name from the large thorn- or nail-like scales that are on the body and fins. These dermal denticles can be up to 15 millimeters in diameter and are distributed irregularly over the body.

The teeth arranged in rows (20-26 in the upper jaw and 21-26 in the lower jaw ) can have up to three secondary peaks.

distribution

Its habitat ranges from the Western Atlantic (off Massachusetts and Virginia , Argentina ) over the Eastern Atlantic ( Scotland , England , down to the Ivory Coast ) and the North Sea , the Mediterranean Sea , off South Africa , the Western Indian Ocean (southern Mozambique , India ) and the Western Pacific ( Japan , Australia , New Zealand ).

Way of life

The way of life of the nail shark is almost unknown, as it has only been caught relatively rarely and has never been observed for longer.

The nail shark probably lives on the bottom or in the deep open water ( mesopelagial ) of the deep sea ( bathyal ), usually at a depth between 350 and 900 meters. Occasionally, however, it has also been caught near the surface of the water. As far as is known, its food consists mainly of deep-sea bony fish but also other small sharks (e.g. dogfish).

Like most cartilaginous fish , the species is ovoviviparous , so the embryos develop in the womb and are then born alive. The number of young animals per litter is 15 to 20.

The birth size is between 30 and 90 centimeters and sexual maturity is reached in males with about 150-170 centimeters and in females with about 215-230 centimeters in length.

literature

  • COMPAGNO, LJV (1984), FAO Species Catalog. Vol 4: Sharks of the world, Part 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, 4 (1): 1-250
  • HEMIDA, F. & CAPAPÉ, C. (2002), Observations on a female Bramble shark, Echinorhinus brucus (BONNATERRE, 1788) (Chondrichthyes Echinorhinidae), caught off the Algerian coast (southern Mediterranean). ACTA ADRIATICA, 43 (1): 103-108
  • PFEIL, Friedrich H. (1983), Dental morphological studies on recent and fossil sharks of the orders Chlamydoselachiformes and Echinorhiniformes. 315 pages, 146 illustrations. ISBN 978-3-923871-00-1

Web links

Commons : Echinorhinus brucus  - collection of images, videos and audio files