The Cuban dogfish (''Squalus cubensis'') 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 ...

in the order

Squaliformes The Squaliformes are an order (biology), order of sharks that includes about 126 species in seven families. Members of the order have two dorsal fins, which usually possess spines, they usually have a sharp head, no anal fin or nictitating me ...

Distribution and habitat

It is found in the Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, around Cuba,

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

, southern Brazil, and Argentina. It inhabits

continental shelves A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

and uppermost slopes at depths from 60 to 380 m.

Description

It is a slim, gray shark with black tips to its dorsal fins black and at the edges of its pectoral fins, its pelvic and

caudal Caudal may refer to: Anatomy * Caudal (anatomical term) (from Latin ''cauda''; tail), used to describe how close something is to the trailing end of an organism * Caudal artery, the portion of the dorsal aorta of a vertebrate that passes into the ...

fins are white; It possess a spine at front edge of each of its two dorsal fans. Its length may reach 110 cm. It probably feeds on bottom fishes and invertebrates. The

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 ...

parasites which commonly infest the mouth and gills of marine fish are unusually large in the Cuban dogfish. Its reproduction is ovoviviparous, with 10 pups in a litter. It is not generally used for food, but taken commercially for the oil and vitamins extracted from its liver.

Gallery

Squalus cubensis SI.jpg, Body Squalus cubensis head.jpg, Head Squalus cubensis jaws.jpg, Jaws Squalus cubensis upper teeth.jpg, Upper teeth Squalus cubensis lower teeth.jpg, Lower teeth

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q994645

Cuban dogfish The Cuban dogfish (''Squalus cubensis'') is a dogfish, a member of the family Squalidae in the order Squaliformes. Distribution and habitat It is found in the Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, around Cuba, H ...

Fish of Cuba Fish of the Dominican Republic Fish of the Western Atlantic