The blacktailed spurdog (''Squalus melanurus'') is a dogfish, a member of the family

Squalidae Squalidae, more commonly known as dogfish, dog sharks, or spiny dogfish, are one of several families of sharks categorized under Squaliformes, making it the second largest order of sharks, numbering 119 species across 7 families. Having earned t ...

, found around

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in the central Pacific Ocean, at depths from 320 to 320 m. Its length is up to 75 cm. Its reproduction is ovoviviparous.

Parasites

The blacktailed spurdog has been seldom studied for parasites. The 1 mm-long monogenean ''Triloculotrema chisholmae'' has been described in 2009 from three specimens found in the nasal tissue of a single shark caught off

.Justine, J.-L. 2009: A new species of ''Triloculotrema'' Kearn, 1993 (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) from a deep-sea shark, the blacktailed spurdog ''Squalus melanurus'' (Squaliformes: Squalidae), off New Caledonia. Systematic Parasitology, 74, 59-63. ''T. chisholmae'' was the second species described in the genus ''Triloculotrema'' Kearn, 1993 (family

Monocotylidae Monocotylidae is a 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 mai ...

). Species of ''Triloculotrema'' appear to be limited to deep-sea sharks, either triakids or squalids (possibly etmopterids).
The blacktailed spurdog is also the host of external parasites such as the aegid

isopod Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

''Aega angustata'' on the skin. Internal parasites include several

trypanorhynch ''Trypanorhyncha'' is an order of cestodes, a type of flatworm. Some species infect gamefish, such as sciaenids, during the parasitic worm's plerocercoid stage, and are commonly called spaghetti worm because of their appearance, approximating c ...

cestode Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, known as tapeworms. Their bodies consist of man ...

s in the spiral intestine, such as ''Vittirhynchus squali'' and ''Gilquinia'' sp.Beveridge, I. & Justine, J.-L. 2006: Gilquiniid cestodes (Trypanorhyncha) from elasmobranch fishes off New Caledonia with descriptions of two new genera and a new species. Systematic Parasitology, 65, 235-249.

Gallery

Squalus melanurus JNC2719 Head.JPG, ''Squalus melanurus'', head Squalus melanurus JNC2719 Dorsal fin.JPG, ''Squalus melanurus'', dorsal fin and spine Squalus melanurus JNC2719 Male parts.JPG, ''Squalus melanurus'', ventral view of male

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blacktailed spurdog Squalus Fish described in 1979