The Caribbean roughshark (''Oxynotus caribbaeus'') is a rough shark of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Oxynotidae ''Oxynotus'' is a genus of sharks in the order Squaliformes, commonly known as the rough sharks. It is the only extant genus in the family Oxynotidae. They live in deep waters in the Atlantic and western Pacific Oceans. Rough sharks are small ...

, found on the upper

continental slope A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin ...

s of the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

, at depths between . It reaches a length around . ''Oxynotus caribbaeus'' is thought to be a slow-moving predator of small

benthic organisms Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone.bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

of bottom trawls.

Taxonomy

Venezuelan biologist Dr.

Fernando Cervigón Fernando Cervigón Marcos (born Valencia on 15 May 1930, died Caracas 17 May 2017) was a Spanish ichthyologist and marine biologist, who lived most of his life in Venezuela. He discovered and described numerous species of fish including the Ca ...

described this species as ''Oxynotus caribbaeus''.Cervigón, M. F. 1961. Una nueva especie de Oxynotus de las costas de Venezuela. Estación de Investigaciones Marinas de Margarita, Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, Contribución 3:1–10

Description

''Oxynotus caribbaeus'' is a small shark found in the upper continental slope of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

; it is easily distinguishable from other ''Oxynotus'' species. Adult males reach a maximum size of in length and the females are thought to grow even longer, although none has been examined. The Caribbean roughshark has a short, blunt snout and head. This chubby-looking shark looks nothing like the typical shark. It has two

dorsal fins A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

that help differentiate this shark from other ''Oxynotus'' species. Its first

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

is inclined forward, is very long and thick, and triangular in shape. The second

is similar to the first, although it is not as long. However, as some other ''Oxynotus'' species, the Caribbean roughshark does not have an

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 ...

. It has the typical shark coarse

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, but these are atypically large for the size of the shark. It contains small, circular spiracles at the dorsal base of its head. The supraorbital ridges are not expanded and do not form a knob in front of the spiracles. It has

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

upper teeth, containing 12 rows and lower bladelike teeth containing 12 rows. It has distinct color features that make it easily identifiable. On the head, body, and tail, it has light, greyish skin, patterned with dark bands and blotches, although it contains noticeably lighter color patterns on its

pectoral 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 ...

s and

pelvic fins Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

.Rogers, Mike. "Best Shark eBook Ever!." Caribbean Roughshark. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 November 2013. .

Geographical habitat and ecology

''Oxynotus caribbeaus'' is found in the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, also near the bottom of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

and the

.Hammock, Jennifer. "Oxynotus caribbaeus Cervigón, 1961 — Details." Encyclopedia of Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 November 2013. . However, sightings of the Caribbean roughshark have happened in the waters off of the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, and

. It occupies water at a range of . At that range, the water temperature is at about 10 °C. This means it has a bathydemersal habitat or is a

demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They occ ...

Diet

Little is known about this shark, but due to its unusual

dentition Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolo ...

, the spear-shaped upper teeth and blade-like lower teeth, it feeds on

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

and fishes found near the bottom of their habitat.

Breeding

This species of shark is an

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

species, meaning the embryos develop inside eggs, which are retained inside the mother's body until the eggs are ready to hatch. The sizes of these shark pups are thought to be 20 to 21 cm long, for both male and females examined.

Threats and conservation

This species of shark lives in depths where deepwater fisheries operate, which can have a negative impact on a population of shark that is already uncommon and virtually unknown. Deepwater fisheries usually find ''O. caribbaeus'' as

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

. As uncommon as it is found as a bycatch, it can still have a negative impact due to the small population observed in the inshore waters. This shark has little to no commercial uses. Though when caught, the most probably use of ''O. caribbaeus'' is fishmeal or bait. Sometimes, it can be processed for oil or human consumption, by smoking and salting.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q139510 Caribbean roughshark Fish of the Caribbean Fish of the Gulf of Mexico Caribbean roughshark Caribbean roughshark