''Hydrolagus pallidus'' is a marine
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
in the family
Chimaeridae
The Chimaeridae, or short-nosed chimaeras, are a family of cartilaginous fish.
They resemble other chimaeras in general form and habits, but have short, rounded snouts, without the modifications found in related families. Many species have lo ...
found in the Northeast
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 ...
, specifically near
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and the
Canary Islands. It is commonly known as the pale chimaera or pale ghost shark, although it is not a true shark.
Its natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
is deepwater
sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
s and near the mid-Atlantic ridge. ''H. pallidus'' is found at a depth range of 800 - 3650 m.
EOL.org
/ref> This species faces a potential threat as bycatch of deepwater trawl fisheries especially as deepwater fisheries operate at greater depths. It has been recognized as distinct from '' Hydrolagus affinis'', its closest relative, since 1990.[IUCN Redlist.org]
/ref>
References
* Jonsson, G., 1992. Islenskir fiskar. Fiolvi, Reykjavik, 568 pp.
* Walovich, K.A., Ebert, D.A., Long, D.J. & Didier, D.A. (2015): Redescription of ''Hydrolagus africanus'' (Gilchrist, 1922) (Chimaeriformes: Chimaeridae), with a review of southern African chimaeroids and a key to their identification. ''African Journal of Marine Science, 37 (2): 157-165.''
pallidus
Fish described in 1990
{{Chondrichthyes-stub