| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | CHONDRICHTHYES | CARCHARHINIFORMES | SCYLIORHINIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Apristurus macrorhynchus | |||||||||
| Species Authority: | (Tanaka, 1909) | |||||||||
Common Name/s:
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| Synonym/s: |
Scyliorhinus macrorhynchus Tanaka, 1909
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| Taxonomic Notes: | Synonym = Scyliorhinus macrorhynchus Tanaka, 1909.
The genus Apristurus contains at least 32 described species and a relatively large number of potentially undescribed ones. Morphological conservatism and, until recently, a lack of objectively defined characters makes this one of the most taxonomically confused shark genera (Compagno 1984, Nakaya and Sato 1999). Nakaya and Sato (1999) defined three species groups within Apristurus: the longicephalus-group (two species), brunneus-group (20 species) and spongiceps-group (10 species). A. macrorhynchus belongs to the brunneus-group, characterized by: a short, wide snout (prenarial length < 6% TL); 13 to 22 valves in the spiral intestine; upper labial furrows obviously longer than the lower furrows; a discontinuous supraorbital sensory canal. |
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| Red List Category & Criteria: | Data Deficient ver 3.1 |
| Year Assessed: | 2004 |
| Assessor/s: | Huveneers, C. & Duffy, C. |
| Reviewer/s: | Kyne, P.M., Cavanagh, R.D. & Fowler, S.L. (Shark Red List Authority) |
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Justification: A little-known deepwater catshark recorded from the continental slopes of Japan and Taiwan. Reaches at least 67.4 cm total length (TL). Probably taken as bycatch in bottom trawl fisheries. At present insufficient information is available to assess the species beyond Data Deficient. |
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| Range Description: | The species is known to occur from southern Japan to Taiwan Island. |
| Countries: |
Native:
Japan (Honshu); Taiwan, Province of China
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| FAO Marine Fishing Areas: |
Native:
Pacific – northwest
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| Range Map: |
(click map to view full version)
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| Population Trend: |
Unknown
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| Habitat and Ecology: |
A little-known deepwater shark of continental slopes. Maximum reported size is 67.4 cm TL (Nakaya and Sato 1999). Reproduction is oviparous, with one egg per oviduct (Compagno 1984).
Apristurus species are relatively small, sluggish sharks that live on or near the bottom over continental and insular slopes. Diet includes crustaceans (penaeid shrimps, euphausiids), squids and small fishes. Egg cases are usually thick-walled and about 5 to 6.8 cm long and 2.5 to 2.9 cm wide. The anterior end of the case has a long weak fibrous thread on each corner. The posterior end usually has two small processes each with a long coiled tendril. As in shallow water scyliorhinids the coiled tendrils are probably used to attach the egg cases to hard substrates and/or biogenic structures. |
| Systems: | Marine |
| Major Threat(s): | Probably taken as bycatch in bottom trawl fisheries. Other species of deepwater Chondrichthyans are known to be captured as bycatch in deepwater fisheries. As these fisheries expand globally, consideration needs to be given to the fact that this species too may be captured incidentally in deepwater fisheries. |
| Conservation Actions: | No conservation measures are currently in place for this species. |
| Citation: | Huveneers, C. & Duffy, C. 2004. Apristurus macrorhynchus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 08 February 2012. |
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