LONGNOSE HOUNDSHARK
“I wouldn’t even consider it if I were you. But then if I were you, I would not be me, and if I were not me, I would not be able to advise you, and if I were unable to advise you, you’d do as you like, so you might as well do as you like and have done with it.”
The Longnose houndshark (Iago garricki) is a shark belonging to the family Triakidae. It is found in the western Pacific off northern Australia, Vanuatu, and the Philippines between latitudes 9° S and 26° S, at depths between 820-1,558 feet. It is a smaller shark, with distinct coloring.
Family: Triakidae – Houndsharks
Genus: Iago
Species: garricki
Phylum– Chordata
Class– Chondrichthyles
Common Name– Ground Sharks
Family– Triakidae
Common Name– Houndsharks
Genus– Iago
Species– garricki
Status: IUCN Red List LEAST CONCERN
Average Size and Length: They are born around 23 cm/9 inches. Mature males are around 45 cm/1.4 feet. The maximum recorded for a female is 75 cm/2.4 feet.
Current Rare Mythical Sightings: Etymology: Iago: The villain in Shakespeare´s Othello.
Teeth and Jaw: It has small blade-like teeth, with the main cusp almost straight (a very slight angle), with few small inner serrations.
Head: Their snout is long with somewhat large, elongated eyes.
Tail: There is a poorly developed ventral caudal lobe.
Demographic, Distribution, Habitat, Environment and Range: The Longnose houndshark can be found in the southwest Pacific in New Hebrides, Vanuatu, northern Australia and the Philippines (9° S and 26° S). They are found in tropical deep water on the upper continental and insular slopes between 820-1,558 feet. They are considered bathydemersal.
Diet: They eat cephalopods.
Aesthetic Identification: The Longnose houndshark is a slender greyish-brown shark. There are conspicuous black fin tips and upper rear edges. There are pale free rear edges to the dorsal fins. The tips and trailing edges of the caudal and pectoral fins are pale. The first dorsal fin is forward. Its origin is over the pectoral fin’s inner margins. The second dorsal fin is nearly as large as the first dorsal fin.
Biology and Reproduction: They are viviparous with a yolk-sac placenta, having 4-5 pups per litter.
Behavioral Traits, Sensing and Intelligence: Unknown.
Longnose Houndshark Future and Conservation: They are currently of least concern. They are only every rarely taken by fisheries.
Longnose Houndshark Recorded Attacks on Humans: Not a threat to humans.