The arrowhead dogfish (''Deania profundorum'') is a small little known deepwater dogfish of the family Centrophoridae.

Physical characteristics

The arrowhead dogfish has an extremely long angular snout, no

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

, small first dorsal and long rear dorsal spines, and pitchfork-shaped

dermal denticle A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as we ...

s. The first dorsal fin is short and placed high on the back. This is the smallest of the genus ''Deania'', with a maximum length of only 76 cm.

Distribution

It is found in the Pacific Ocean around the Philippines, in the Western Atlantic Ocean off of the

Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nort ...

, in the Eastern Atlantic all along Africa's west coast, and in the Indian Ocean off South Africa.

Habits and habitat

This shark is a little-known deepwater species that lives at depths between 300 and 1,785 m. It is ovoviviparous with five to seven pups per litter. It eats bony fish,

squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...

, and crustaceans.

References

* * FAO Species Catalogue Volume 4 Parts 1 and 2 Sharks of the World {{Taxonbar, from=Q998007 arrowhead dogfish Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Philippines Fish of South Africa Gulf of Guinea Fauna of Socotra Marine fauna of Southern Africa arrowhead dogfish