Smith's slender shark
| Smith's slender shark | ||||||||||||
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Drawing from the first description , general view and teeth. |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Leptochariidae | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1851 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Leptocharias | ||||||||||||
| Smith in Müller & Henle , 1838 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Leptocharias smithii | ||||||||||||
| (Müller & Henle, 1839) |
Barbeled houndshark ( Leptocharias smithii ), also known as Bartel-tope , is the only kind of family Leptochariidae.
anatomy
Smith's slender shark is a light gray to gray-brown shark that is on average 50 to 70 and a maximum of about 80 centimeters long. The stomach side is lighter in color than the back. The shark has two dorsal fins of different sizes. The first dorsal fin begins behind the end of the pectoral fins, the second at the level of the anal fin. The mouth is relatively long and the animals have characteristic barbels on their nostrils . Males have greatly enlarged front teeth that are likely used to hold the female in place when mating.
distribution
The shark lives above the continental shelf of the eastern Atlantic off the coast of West Africa from Mauritania to Angola . Distribution off the coast of Morocco and in the Mediterranean is assumed, but has not been proven. It is particularly common on muddy bottoms in front of estuaries at depths of 10 to 75 meters.
Way of life
It feeds on small, ground-living animals, preferably crustaceans . He also eats sardines , anchovies , flatfish , snake eels , slimy fish , gobies , octopuses and even sponges .
Barbeled houndshark is viviparous ( Viviparie ). The females give birth to fewer than ten young animals per litter after a gestation period of around four months. The animals reach sexual maturity with about 55 to 60 centimeters.
Danger
Smith's slender shark is harmless to humans. He is in the red list of the IUCN "small endangered" ( "Near Threatened") because it is still considered relatively common in its limited area of distribution. However, there are no data on commercial use and the population size of the animals.
Web links
- Smith's Slender Shark on Fishbase.org (English)
- Portrait on hai.ch
Individual evidence
- ↑ Leptocharias smithii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: L. J. V. Compagno, 2000. Retrieved on October 22 of 2009.