Hooktooth dogfish

Hooktooth dogfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Chondrichthyes
Order:Squaliformes
Family:Etmopteridae
Genus:Aculeola
F. de Buen, 1959
Species: A. nigra
Binomial name
Aculeola nigra
Range of hooktooth dogfish (in blue)

The hooktooth dogfish, Aculeola nigra, is a small, little-known dogfish, the only member of the genus Aculeola.

The type specimen is held at the National Natural History Museum, Santiago, Chile.

Description

The hooktooth dogfish has a blunt, flattened snout, very large eyes, a relatively long distance from the eye to the first gill slit, small grooved dorsal spines, a first dorsal fin about halfway between the pectoral and pelvic fins, and a broad caudal fin. They are black with a maximum length of only 60 cm.

Distribution

They are found in the eastern South Pacific along the coast of South America from Peru to central Chile.

Habits and habitat

This shark is a little-known, yet common, shark that lives at depths between 110 and 560 m. They are ovoviviparous, with at least three pups per litter. They probably eat bony fish and invertebrates.

References

  • Acuña & Romero (2004). "Aculeola nigra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2006. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as data deficient
  • FAO Species Catalogue, Volume 4, Parts 1 and 2: Sharks of the World
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