Japanese angel shark
| Japanese angel shark | ||||||||||||
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Japanese angel shark ( Squatina japonica ) |
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| Squatina japonica | ||||||||||||
| Bleeker , 1858 |
The Japanese angel shark ( Squatina japonica ) is a ground-dwelling shark found in the Pacific in the coastal areas of Japan , China and Taiwan . With a maximum length of up to two meters, it is the largest angel shark, but hardly any data is available about its way of life.
Appearance and characteristics
The Japanese angel shark reaches a maximum body length of up to 200 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 rust to black-brown back color with densely scattered small black and a few light spots. Behind the head to the base of the pelvic fins there are also larger and paired dark red-brown spots. The underside is white with a dark border around the fins and tail. There are slightly enlarged thorns on the snout area and in other head areas, the entire surface is rough due to denticles, and there are also thorns in a row on the back on the midline.
The eyes are on the top of the head with a concave surface between the eyes, the mouth is terminal, the outer nostrils are provided with short barbels . The injection holes are large. The number of lateral, lower gill openings is five. The nasal flaps and barbels are only slightly fringed or have smooth edges.
distribution
The range of the Japanese angel shark is in the coastal area of the Pacific in the area of Japan , China and Taiwan to a depth of 300 meters.
Way of life
Little data is available on the way the Japanese angel shark lives. Like other angel sharks, it probably feeds mainly 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.
Danger
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies this shark as endangered ("Vulnerable"). The shark is not targeted, but is mainly caught as by-catch in bottom and trawling fisheries that are carried out throughout its range; individual individuals have been found in fish markets in northern Taiwan, China and Japan. The classification as an endangered species was made despite the poor knowledge of the species by comparison with other angel sharks, in which population declines of more than 80% were proven for areas with high fishing pressure.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b Squatina japonica in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: Walsh, JH & Ebert, DA, 2008. Accessed on December 18 of 2010.
literature
- Leonard Compagno , Marc Dando, Sarah Fowler: Sharks of the World . Princeton University Press , Princeton and Oxford 2005, pp. 143-144. ISBN 978-0-691-12072-0
Web links
- Japanese angel shark on Fishbase.org (English)