Apristurus macrorhynchus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	CHONDRICHTHYES	CARCHARHINIFORMES	SCYLIORHINIDAE

Scientific Name:

Apristurus macrorhynchus

Species Authority:

(Tanaka, 1909)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Flathead Catshark
French	–	Holbiche Torazame
Spanish	–	Pejegato Chato

Synonym/s:

Scyliorhinus macrorhynchus Tanaka, 1909

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.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Data Deficient ver 3.1
Year Published:	2004
Assessor/s:	Huveneers, C. & Duffy, C.
Reviewer/s:	Kyne, P.M., Cavanagh, R.D. & Fowler, S.L. (Shark Red List Authority)
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.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The species is known to occur from southern Japan to Taiwan Island.
Countries:	Native: Japan (Honshu); Taiwan, Province of China
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Pacific – northwest
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population Trend:	Unknown

Population Trend:

Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

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

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

Threats [top]

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.

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 [top]

Conservation Actions:	No conservation measures are currently in place for this species.

Conservation Actions:

No conservation measures are currently in place for this species.

Bibliography [top]

	Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Sharks of the World: an annotated and illustrated catalogue of the shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Vol. 4(2). FAO, Rome. Compagno, L.J.V. In prep. b. Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the shark species known to date. Volume 3. (Carcharhiniformes). FAO Species Catalogue for Fisheries Purposes No. 1, Vol.3. FAO, Rome. IUCN. 2004. 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 23 November 2004. IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group. Specialist Group website. Available at: http://www.iucnssg.org/. Nakaya, K. and Sato, K. 1999. Species grouping within the genus Apristurus (Elasmobranchii: Scyliorhinidae). In: B. Séret and J.-Y. Sire (eds). Proceedings of the 5th Indo-Pacific Fish Conference (Nouméa, 3-8 November 1997). Paris, Society Francaise d’Ichthyologie et Instutue de Recherches pour le Development: 307–320.

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Sharks of the World: an annotated and illustrated catalogue of the shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Vol. 4(2). FAO, Rome.

Compagno, L.J.V. In prep. b. Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the shark species known to date. Volume 3. (Carcharhiniformes). FAO Species Catalogue for Fisheries Purposes No. 1, Vol.3. FAO, Rome.

IUCN. 2004. 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 23 November 2004.

IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group. Specialist Group website. Available at: http://www.iucnssg.org/.

Nakaya, K. and Sato, K. 1999. Species grouping within the genus Apristurus (Elasmobranchii: Scyliorhinidae). In: B. Séret and J.-Y. Sire (eds). Proceedings of the 5th Indo-Pacific Fish Conference (Nouméa, 3-8 November 1997). Paris, Society Francaise d’Ichthyologie et Instutue de Recherches pour le Development: 307–320.

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 22 May 2012.
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