| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | CHONDRICHTHYES | CARCHARHINIFORMES | PROSCYLLIIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Eridacnis sinuans | |||||||||
| Species Authority: | (Smith, 1957) | |||||||||
Common Name/s:
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| Red List Category & Criteria: | Least Concern ver 3.1 |
| Year Published: | 2004 |
| Assessor/s: | Brash, J. |
| Reviewer/s: | Compagno, L.J.V., Human, B., Cavanagh, R.D. & Fowler, S.L. (Shark Red List Authority) |
|
Justification: Eridacnis sinuans is a very small, deepwater (outer continental shelf and upper slope) catshark, endemic to the southwestern Indian Ocean (South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania) with part of its range being impacted by trawl fisheries. Most of the catches off KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) are of males, indicating that sex segregation occurs and females may inhabit areas of low fishing pressure or unfished areas. Because only part of its range is currently impacted by fisheries, and escapement and survival may be high for this small species, it is currently assessed as Least Concern. However, catch trends should be monitored; there is concern that fisheries may extend into deeper water in the near future and E. sinuans is known to have low fecundity. |
|
| Range Description: | Endemic to the southwestern Indian Ocean, off South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania on the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope (Compagno et al. 1989). |
| Countries: |
Native:
Mozambique; South Africa; Tanzania, United Republic of
|
| FAO Marine Fishing Areas: |
Native:
Indian Ocean – western
|
| Range Map: | Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
| Population: | Likely to comprise a single population. |
| Population Trend: |
Unknown
|
| Habitat and Ecology: | A deepwater warm-temperate and tropical bottom shark of the upper continental slope and outer shelf of southeastern Africa at depths of 180 to 500 m. Apparently geographic or bathymetric segregation of populations by sex occurs, as most specimens taken off KwaZulu-Natal are male. Ovoviviparous, number of young in a litter two (Compagno et al. 1989). Size at birth is approximately 15 to 17 cm total length (TL) (Bass et al. 1975). Males mature at 29 to 30 cm TL. Size at maturity for females is not known although they are immature at 22 cm TL and mature at 37 cm TL (Compagno in prep. b). |
| Systems: | Marine |
| Major Threat(s): | Part of its restricted range is subject to intensive bottom trawl fisheries for deepwater crustaceans. Expansion of deepwater fisheries may be of concern in the future. |
| Conservation Actions: | No conservation measures are in place for this species. Release of live bycatch should be encouraged. |
| Citation: | Brash, J. 2004. Eridacnis sinuans. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2012. |
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