White spotted bamboo shark
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White-spotted bamboo shark ( Chiloscyllium plagiosum ) |
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| Chiloscyllium plagiosum | ||||||||||||
| (Anonymous [Bennett] , 1830) |
The white-spotted bamboo shark ( Chiloscyllium plagiosum ) is a shark from the bamboo shark family (Hemiscylliidae).
features
The species reaches a maximum length of 95 centimeters, adult animals usually measure between 60 and 70 centimeters. The body and tail are slender as in other species of the genus, it has ridges on the sides of the caudal peduncle. The basic color of the shark is dark gray and it is marked by several clearly delineated light stripes on the back (saddle spots) and numerous light points. In the young animals there is no clear limitation of the saddle spots.
The mouth lies clearly in front of the eyes, which are quite large for the species. Both the dorsal fins and the anal fin start very far back on the body. The first dorsal fin starts above the pelvic fins or directly behind them and the beginning of the anal fin is far behind the end of the second dorsal fin. The rear edge of the two dorsal fins is straight or slightly convex.
distribution and habitat
The white-spotted bamboo shark lives close to the coast in different areas of the Indian Ocean . It is proven in the area from Madagascar as well as from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia and southern Japan . It can therefore be found in the coastal areas of China , Malaysia , the Philippines , Thailand and Vietnam , among others .
The animals off the coast of Madagascar were originally described taxonomically as a separate species and called blue-spotted bamboo shark ( C. caerulopunctatum ), but are now synonymous with this species.
It lives on the continental shelf near the coast in the area of coral reefs .
Way of life
The white-spotted bamboo shark spends the day tucked away in reef crevices and hunts for small bony fish and invertebrates at night. The species is egg-laying ( oviparous ). The young sharks hatch with a length of 9 to 12 centimeters and the animals reach sexual maturity with a length of 50 to 60 centimeters. It is one of the few species of shark in which asexual reproduction has been proven. Other reports of potential asexual reproduction come from the whitetip reef shark , the shovel-nosed hammerhead shark ( Sphyrna tiburo ) and the lesser blacktip shark ( Carcharhinus limbatus ).
Relationship to people
The small sharks are classified as harmless to humans due to their small size. It is an important food fish in its range and is therefore often caught by coastal fishermen in India, Sri Lanka and other countries. In addition, it is a popular shark for saltwater aquariums and is mainly caught for show aquariums, although some aquariums have also been successful in breeding.
The catch creates a high fishing pressure in its entire area of distribution, which together with strong changes in its habitats near the coast, in particular the destruction of coral reefs , has a significant impact on the shark populations. Since little is known about this shark's way of life and reproduction, it is believed to be sensitive to increased fishing pressure. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) puts the species on the early warning list (“Near Threatened”) of endangered species.
supporting documents
- ↑ Kevin A. Feldheim, Demian D. Chapman, Doug Sweet, Seán Fitzpatrick, Paulo A. Prodöhl, Mahmood S. Shivji, Bob Snowden: Shark Virgin Birth Produces Multiple, Viable Offspring . In: Journal of Heredity . 101, No. 3, 2010, pp. 374-377. doi : 10.1093 / jhered / esp129 .
- ↑ Holtcamp, W .: Lone Parents: Parthenogenesis in Sharks . In: BioScience . 59, No. 7, July / August 2009, pp. 546-550. doi : 10.1525 / bio.2009.59.7.3 .
- ↑ a b Chiloscyllium plagiosum in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010.2. Posted by: Kyne, PM & Burgess, GH, 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
literature
- LJV Compagno : Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalog of shark species known to date. Volume 2. Bullhead, mackerel and carpet sharks (Heterodontiformes, Lamniformes and Orectolobiformes). FAO Species Catalog for Fishery Purposes. No. 1, Vol. 2. FAO Rome 2001 ( full PDF ), species portrait
- Leonard Compagno, Marc Dando, Sarah Fowler: Sharks of the World. Princeton Field Guides, Princeton University Press , Princeton and Oxford 2005, pages 167-168, ISBN 978-0-691-12072-0
Web links
- White-spotted bamboo shark on Fishbase.org (English)