Parascyllium
| Parascyllium | ||||||||||||
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Parascyllium ferrugineum |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Parascyllium | ||||||||||||
| Gill , 1862 |
Parascyllium is a genus belonging to the genus of real sharks and the family of collar carpet sharks . It includes five species that are found in limited ranges around the Australian continent.
features
All species of the genus are small and very slender, elongated species. They reach a maximum body length between 89 and 90 centimeters and are therefore significantly larger when fully grown than the closely related Cirrhoscyllium species. The underside of the body is flattened in a manner typical of shark species living on the ground. The two dorsal fins are very far back, the first dorsal fin arises in all species behind the pelvic fins and the second clearly behind the attachment of the anal fin .
Compared to the closely related species of the genus Cirrhoscyllium , Parascyllium species can be distinguished by the absence of barbels in the area of the throat. In addition, the species of the Parascyllium genus are usually marked by a clear pattern with numerous spots and dots, while Cirrhoscyllium species only have saddle spots.
distribution
The five species of the genus Parascyllium each have a limited range in the coastal area of Australia. The collar carpet shark only occurs on the east coast of Australia, while the rust-colored carpet shark and the collar carpet shark live along the southern coast and around Tasmania . Parascyllium sparsimaculatum is only known from a very limited deep-sea area off Western Australia .
With the exception of Parascyllium sparsimaculatum , they live on the Pacific continental shelf in rocky reefs at depths of up to 180 m. Parascyllium sparsimaculatum is a deep-sea species that can be found at depths of 245 to 435 meters, and so far only known in three individuals.
Way of life
Very little information is available about the way of life of the five species. They are nocturnal and hide in caves during the day. Probably all species are oviparous and they feed on small fish and invertebrates.
Systematics
The genus Parascyllium consists of five species and together with the genus Cirrhoscyllium forms the family of collar carpet sharks (Parascyllidae) within the nurse shark-like (Orectolobiformes).
The five types are:
- Collar carpet shark ( Parascyllium collare Ramsay & Ogilby , 1888 )
- Parascyllium elongatum Last & Stevens, 2008
- Rust-colored carpet shark ( Parascyllium ferrugineum McCulloch , 1911 )
- Parascyllium sparsimaculatum Goto & Last, 2002
- Collared carpet shark ( Parascyllium variolatum ( Duméril , 1853) )
Danger
Three types of Parascyllium are included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as “least concern” with the exception of Parascyllium elongatum and Parascyllium sparsimaculatum , for which insufficient data are available for classification (“Data deficient "). They are rare and only occasionally caught as by-catch .
literature
- Leonard Compagno , Marc Dando, Sarah Fowler: Sharks of the World. Princeton Field Guides, Princeton University Press , Princeton and Oxford 2005; Pp. 157-159. ISBN 978-0-691-12072-0 .
Web links
- Parascyllium on Fishbase.org (English)