BARESKIN DOGFISH

Taxonomy:

Phylum– Chordata

Class– Chondrichthyles

Subclass– Elasmobranchii

Order– Squaliformes

Common Name– Dogfish Sharks

Family– Etmopteridae

Common Name– Lantern Sharks

Genus– Centroscyllium

Species– kamoharai

Status: IUCN Red List LEAST CONCERN

Average Size and Length: Males are between 1.3-1.5 feet on average. Females have been recorded at 1.4 feet. The maximum length is 2 feet.

Teeth and Jaw: The mouth is short and broadly arched. There are comb-like teeth in both jaws.

Head: The snout is blunt with large eyes with spiracles and large nostrils.

Denticles: The skin is smooth. It appears naked. It is extremely delicate and damages easily. When caught, the skin is ripped or chafed and the exposed patches are white in color. The dermal denticles that are there are few and wide-spaced.

Tail: The caudal peduncle is short.

Demographic, Distribution, Habitat, Environment and Range: The Bareskin dogfish can be found in the west Pacific from Japan to Australia and possibly the Philippines. They can be found deep on the bottom of the continental shelf between 1,640-3,937 feet, but typically greater than 2,953 feet.

Aesthetic Identification: The Bareskin dogfish is stout and uniformly blackish. The fins have lighter rear margins. The first dorsal fin is low and rounded with a short, grooved spine. The second dorsal fin is larger than the first and the grooved spine is about as high as the fin apex. Some suggest that the Bareskin dogfish has few bioluminescent organs on the ventral side, but this is unconfirmed. There is no anal fin.

Biology and Reproduction: Presumably ovoviviparous.

Behavioral Traits, Sensing and Intelligence: Unknown.

Bareskin Dogfish Future and Conservation: Unreported fisheries bycatch. IUCN lists as of least concern at the moment. Previously there wasn’t enough data to evaluate their status.

Bareskin Dogfish Recorded Attacks on Humans: Not a threat to humans.