The velvet dogfish (''Zameus squamulosus''), the only member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Zameus'', is a small

sleeper shark The Somniosidae are a family of sharks in the order Squaliformes, commonly known as sleeper sharks. The common name ''"sleeper shark"'' comes from their slow swimming, low activity level, and perceived non-aggressive nature. Distribution and hab ...

of the

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

Somniosidae The Somniosidae are a family of sharks in the order Squaliformes, commonly known as sleeper sharks. The common name ''"sleeper shark"'' comes from their slow swimming, low activity level, and perceived non-aggressive nature. Distribution and ha ...

, found around the world between

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

s 64°N and 48°S, from the surface to 2,000 m.

Description

Its length is up to 84 cm.White, W.T., Vaz, D.F.B., Ho, H.-C., Ebert, D.A., Carvalho, M.R.d., Corrigan, S., Rochel, E., Carvalho, M.d., Tanaka, S. & Naylor, G.J.P. (2014): Redescription of ''Scymnodon ichiharai'' Yano and Tanaka 1984 (Squaliformes: Somniosidae) from the western North Pacific, with comments on the definition of somniosid genera. ''Ichthyological Research, 62 (2): 213-229.'' Although sharks within the family Somniosidae have generally been accepted to be non-luminous, ''Zameus squamulosus'' has

photophore A photophore is a glandular organ that appears as luminous spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors, ...

s on its ventral epidermis.

Reproduction

Its reproduction is

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 ...

Conservation

In June 2018 the New Zealand

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

classified the velvet dogfish as "Data Deficient" with the qualifier "Uncertain whether Secure Overseas" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3442806 velvet dogfish Fauna of the Southeastern United States Fish of the East Atlantic Fish of the Dominican Republic Fish of Uruguay Fish of Venezuela Marine fish of Eastern Australia Marine fish of Western Australia Marine fish of New Zealand velvet dogfish Taxa named by Albert Günther