Centroscymnus coelolepis Barbosa du Bocage & de Brito Capello, 1864
Portuguese dogfish
photo by Cambraia Duarte, P.M.N. (c)ImagDOP

Family:  Somniosidae (Sleeper sharks)
Max. size:  121 cm TL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 10 kg
Environment:  bathydemersal; marine; depth range 128 - 3700 m
Distribution:  Western Atlantic: Grand Banks to Delaware, USA; Cuba (Ref. 26340). Eastern Atlantic: Iceland south along Atlantic slope to the southwestern Cape coast of South Africa; also western Mediterranean. Western Pacific: off Japan, New Zealand, and Australia (Ref. 6871, 31367). Western Indian Ocean: Seychelles (Ref. 76802).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 2-2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0-0; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 0-0. Dorsal fins with very small spines, very short snout, lanceolate upper teeth and bladelike lower teeth with short, oblique cusps, stocky body that does not taper abruptly from pectoral region, very large lateral trunk denticles with smooth, circular, acuspidate crowns in adults and subadults (Ref. 247). Uniformly golden brown to dark brown in color (Ref. 6871).
Biology:  Found on continental slopes and abyssal plains (Ref. 6871). Feeds mainly on fish (including sharks) and cephalopods (Ref. 6871), also gastropods and cetacean meat (Ref. 5578). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205), with 13 to 29 young per litter, born at 27-31 cm (Ref. 26346); 32-35 cm TL in North Atlantic (Ref. 98315). Utilized as fishmeal, dried and salted for human consumption, or as a source of squalene (Ref. 6871).
IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened (NT); Date assessed: 21 November 2019 (A2bd) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:   
 


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