The leafscale gulper shark (''Centrophorus squamosus'') is a dogfish 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 ...

Centrophoridae The Centrophoridae are a family of squaliform sharks. The family contains just two genera and about 15 species. They are sometimes called gulper sharks, but this is also the name of a specific species in the family, ''Centrophorus granulosus''. ...

. ''C. squamosus'' is reported to have a lifespan of approximately 70 years, based on otolith ring counts. It was the first described species in the genus Centrophorus, which now contains 13 species.

Physical characteristics

Centrophorus squamosus mouth female - tokyosealifepark - 2019-1-8

The leafscale gulper shark has 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 ...

, two

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 ...

s with spines, the first dorsal being relatively low and long, large eyes, and rough leaf-like

denticle A denticle is any small tooth-like or bristle-like structure. "Denticle" may refer to: * Denticle (tooth feature), serrations on the teeth of dinosaurs, lizards, sharks, and mammals * Dermal denticles or placoid scales, in cartilaginous fishes * ...

s. Its maximum length is .

Distribution

Eastern

Atlantic 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 an ...

around continental slopes from

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 ...

south to the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

, western

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

around

Aldabra Islands The Aldabra Group are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, lying in the southwest of the island nation, around from the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. Population and area The group contains four islands and atolls. The largest in ...

, and western Pacific around

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, south-east

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Habits and habitat

The leafscale gulper shark lives near the bottom between , but usually below . Also occurs

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

ally in much deeper water. It probably feeds on fish and

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head ...

s. It 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 ...

with a maximum of five young per litter. Its meat is utilized dried and salted for human consumption and as

fishmeal Fish meal is a commercial product made from whole wild-caught fish, bycatch and fish by-products to feed farm animals, e.g., pigs, poultry, and farmed fish.R. D. Miles and F. A. Chapman.FA122: The Benefits of Fish Meal in Aquaculture DietsFisherie ...

Conservation status

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 ...

has classified the leafscale gulper shark as "Not Threatened" with the qualifier "Secure Overseas" under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...

References

* * FAO Species Catalogue Volume 4 Parts 1 and 2 Sharks of the World * {{Authority control

leafscale gulper shark The leafscale gulper shark (''Centrophorus squamosus'') is a dogfish of the family Centrophoridae. ''C. squamosus'' is reported to have a lifespan of approximately 70 years, based on otolith ring counts. It was the first described species in ...

Fauna of the Southeastern United States Fish of the East Atlantic Fish of Japan Marine fauna of Central Africa Marine fish of Eastern Australia Marine fish of New Zealand Fish of the Philippines Marine fish of South Africa Fish of Venezuela Fauna of New South Wales Fauna of Seychelles Irish Sea