Velvet dogfish

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Velvet dogfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Subdivision: Selachimorpha
Order: Squaliformes
Family: Somniosidae
Genus: Zameus
D. S. Jordan & Fowler, 1903
Species:
Z. squamulosus
Binomial name
Zameus squamulosus
(Günther, 1877)
Range of the velvet dogfish
Synonyms
  • Centrophorus squamulosus Günther, 1877
  • Scymnodon obscurus Vaillant, 1888
  • Scymnodon niger Chu & Meng, 1982
  • Scymnodon squamulosus Günther, 1877

The velvet dogfish (Zameus squamulosus), the only member of the genus Zameus, is a small sleeper shark of the family Somniosidae, found around the world between latitudes 64°N and 48°S, from the surface to 2,000 m.

Description[edit]

Its length is up to 84 cm.[2] Although sharks within the family Somniosidae have generally been accepted to be non-luminous, Zameus squamulosus has photophores on its ventral epidermis.[3]

Reproduction[edit]

Its reproduction is ovoviviparous.

Conservation[edit]

In June 2018 the New Zealand Department of Conservation classified the velvet dogfish as "Data Deficient" with the qualifier "Uncertain whether Secure Overseas" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Finucci, B.; Cheok, J.; Cotton, C.F.; Kulka, D.W.; Neat, F.C.; Pacoureau, N.; Rigby, C.L.; Tanaka, S.; Walker, T.I. (2020). "Zameus squamulosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T60215A3093577. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T60215A3093577.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ White, W.T., Vaz, D.F.B., Ho, H.-C., Ebert, D.A., Carvalho, M.R.d., Corrigan, S., Rochel, E., Carvalho, M.d., Tanaka, S. & Naylor, G.J.P. (2014): Redescription of Scymnodon ichiharai Yano and Tanaka 1984 (Squaliformes: Somniosidae) from the western North Pacific, with comments on the definition of somniosid genera. Ichthyological Research, 62 (2): 213-229.
  3. ^ Straube, N.; Chenhong, L.; Claes, J.M.; Corrigan, S.; Naylor, G.J.P. (2015). "Molecular phylogeny of squaliforms and first occurrence of bioluminescence in sharks". Evolutionary Biology. 15: 162. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0446-6. PMC 4537554. PMID 26277575.
  4. ^ Duffy, Clinton A. J.; Francis, Malcolm; Dunn, M. R.; Finucci, Brit; Ford, Richard; Hitchmough, Rod; Rolfe, Jeremy (2018). Conservation status of New Zealand chondrichthyans (chimaeras, sharks and rays), 2016 (PDF). Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation. p. 11. ISBN 9781988514628. OCLC 1042901090.