Centrophorus squamosus (Leafscale gulper shark)

(Bonnaterre, 1788)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Chondrichthyes > Elasmobranchii > Squalomorphii > Squaliformes > Centrophoridae

Centrophorus squamosus (Leafscale gulper shark) [Illustration by Ann Hecht ©]

Identification

A large gulper shark with a short, broad snout, a long, low 1 st dorsal fin, short pectoral rear tips, and large, rough, leaf-like denticles. Colour dark grey or chocolate-brown.

Size

Up to 1,6 m.

Range

From Namibia to the eastern Cape, also off Natal; elsewhere, most temperate and tropical seas. Habitat: Usually on the slope at depths of 400-750 m, once speared by a diver in shallow water.

Biology

Uncommon. Feeds on cephalopods. Bears 5 young.

Human impact

Occasionally caught by hake trawlers.

Text by Leonard J.V. Compagno, David A. Ebert and Malcolm J. Smale