Demon catsharks Apristurusspp.

Demon catsharks
Apristurus spp.
Apristurus aphyodes,
White Ghost Catshark
Apristurus laurussoni,
Iceland Catshark
Apristurus manis,
Ghost Catshark
SYNONYMS
COMMON NAMES
Scyllium laurussonii (Saemundsson, 1922), Apristurus laurussonii
(Saemundsson, 1922), Apristurus atlanticus (Koefoed, 1927)
Scylliorhinus atlanticus (Koefoed, 1927), Apristurus maderensis
(Cadenet & Maul, 1966), Apristurus profundurum (non Goode &
Bean, 1896), Parmaturus manis (Springer, 1979), Scyliorhinus microps
(Gilchrist, 1922), Pentachus microps (Gilchrist, 1922).
White Ghost Catshark (Apristurus aphyodes), Iceland Catshark
(Apristurus laurussoni), Ghost Catshark (Apristurus manis), Smalleye
Catshark (Apristurus microps), Black Roughscale Catshark
(Apristurus melanoasper) (Not Illustrated).
DISTRIBUTION
APPEARANCE
• Long, laterally expanded snout and head
• Large nostrils with reduced, anterior nasal flaps.
• Labial furrows very long
• Small, spineless dorsal fins set far back
• Very large anal fin with elongated base. Separated from the
caudal fin by only a notch.
LC
DD
• Uniform colouration ranging from white to black. (Compagno,
1984).
API
No Records
Occasional
Range
Demon Catsharks
are found
worldwide with at
least four species
known from the
northeast Atlantic
(Compagno et
al., 2005). The
Black Roughscale
Catshark, Apristurus
melanoasper,
has widely been
accepted as a
distinct species
and is listed in the
northeast Atlantic
by George and
Zidowitz (2006).
NE ATL
Apristurus microps,
Smalleye Catshark
Map base conforms with ICES grid squares.
Text & Illustrations © Shark Trust 2009
Supported by:
SIMILAR SPECIES
Galeus atlanticus, Atlantic Sawtail Catshark
Galeus murinus, Mouse Catshark
Galeus melastomus, Blackmouth Catshark
Scyliorhinus canicula, Smallspotted Catshark
Scyliorhinus stellaris, Nursehound
Centroselachus crepidater, Longnose Velvet Dogfish
Apristurus spp.,
Demon Catsharks
Galeus atlanticus,
Atlantic Sawtail Catshark
Galeus murinus,
Mouse Catshark
Galeus melastomus,
Blackmouth Catshark
Scyliorhinus canicula,
Smallspotted Catshark
Scyliorhinus stellaris,
Nursehound
Centroselchus crepidater,
Longnose Velvet Dogfish
(Not to scale)
Text & Illustrations © Shark Trust 2009
Demon catsharks
Demon catsharks
Apristurus spp.
TEETH
Prominent central cusp and one
or more pairs of lateral cusplets on
each tooth (Compagno et al., 2005)
Apristurus manis,
Ghost Catshark
Apristurus aphyodes,
White Ghost Catshark
Apristurus laurussoni,
Iceland Catshark
Apristurus microps,
Smalleye Catshark
ECOLOGY AND BIOLOGY
HABITAT
Depending on the species, Demon Catsharks can be found on
continental slopes in the northeast Atlantic from 512 to 2,200
metres. They are all demersal found over soft substrates such as
sand and mud. The Iceland Catshark is reportly quite common on
the upper continental slopes (Compagno et al., 2005). The White
Ghost Catshark, known from 30 specimens, occurs at bottom water
temperatures of 3.67 to 9.57°C and salinities of 35.13 to 34.87 ppm
(Duffy and Huveneers, 2004).
DIET
The diet of the Demon Catsharks is poorly understood but the
Smalleye Catshark is known to feed on small bony fishes, shrimp,
squid and other small sharks (Compagno et al., 2005). The Smalleye
Catshark is known to migrate off the bottom to feed on midwater
prey (Ebert, 2004b)
REPRODUCTION
Very little is known of the biology and reproduction of the Demon
Catsharks, except that they are oviparous (Compagno et al., 2005).
Off South Africa gravid Smalleye Catsharks were found year round,
suggesting that there is little or no seasonality to the reproductive
cycle (Ebert et al., 2006). It reportedly matures around 50cm in
length (Ebert, 2004b). White Ghost Catsharks have been reported
as adolescent at 40-46cm and mature at 47-50cm (Duffy and
Huveneers, 2004). Female Iceland Catsharks are reported to mature
above 59.2cm in length (Duffy and Huveneers, 2007). The Ghost
Catshark matures larger at 75.8cm for females and 85.2cm for males
(Ebert, 2004a).
Text & Illustrations © Shark Trust 2009
EGGCASE
• Unknown for many species.
• Average 50-68mm in length.
• Average 25-29mm in width.
• May have thick walls and weak, fibrous tendrils (Duffy and
Huveneers, 2004).
Similar eggcase to the Blackmouth Catshark, Galeus melastomus.
Supported by:
COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE
The Demon Catsharks are of little commercial importance although
they may be taken as bycatch across much of their range and
discarded (Gibson et al., 2006).
Demon catsharks
IUCN RED LIST ASSESSMENT
White Ghost Catshark: Data Deficient (2004).
Iceland Catshark: Data Deficient (2007).
Ghost Catshark: Least Concern (2004).
Black Roughscale Catshark: Data Deficient (2008).
Smalleye Catshark: Least Concern (2004).
THREATS, CONSERVATION, LEGISLATION
Sparsely distributed throughout large ranges, the Demon Catsharks
are uncommon bycatch of deep-water trawl fisheries. As very little is
known of their stock structure and natural abundance, it is unknown
if this is having a detrimental effect on populations. With a trend for
increasing deepsea fisheries effort, future catches should be closely
monitored and managed to ensure no significantly population
declines occur (Gibson et al., 2006).
Text & Illustrations © Shark Trust 2009
HANDLING AND THORN ARRANGEMENT
•
Handle with care.
•
Sharp teeth.
•
Abrasive skin.
Demon catsharks
Apristurus spp.
REFERENCES
COMPAGNO, L. J. V. 1984. Sharks of the World: An Annotated and
Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date. Volume
4, Part 1. Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO. Rome, Italy.
COMPAGNO, L., DANDO, M., FOWLER, S. 2005. Sharks of the World.
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. London, UK.
CORTÉS, E. 1999. Standardized diet compositions and trophic
levels of sharks. ICES Journal of Marine Science. Vol. 56: 707-717.
COTTON, C. 2009. Personal Communication.
DUFFY, C., HUVENEERS, C. 2004. Apristurus aphyodes. In: IUCN 2009.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. www.
iucnredlist.org.
DUFFY, C., HUVENEERS, C. 2007. Apristurus laurussonii. In: IUCN
2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1.
www.iucnredlist.org.
EBERT, D. A. 2004a. Apristurus manis. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. www.iucnredlist.org
EBERT, D. A. 2004b. Apristurus microps. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. www.iucnredlist.org
EBERT, D. A., COMPAGNO, L. J. V., COWLEY, P. D. 2006. Reproductive
biology of catsharks (Chondrichthyes: Scyliorhinidae) off the
west coast of southern Africa. ICES Journal of Marine Science. Vol.
63 (6).
GEORGE, M. R., ZIDOWITZ, H. 2006. Checkliste der europäischen
Knorpelfischarten mit wissenschaftlichen und deutschen
Namen. Zeitschrift für Fischkunde. 8 (1/2): 71-81.
GIBSON, C., VALENTI, S. V., FOWLER, S. L., FORDHAM, S. V. 2006. The
Conservation Status of Northeast Atlantic Chondrichthyans;
Report of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group Northeast Atlantic
Regional Red List Workshop. VIII + 76pp. IUCN SSC Shark
Specialist Group.
IGLÉSIAS, S. P., DU BUIT, M-H., NAKAYA, K. 2002. Egg Capsules Of
Deep-Sea Catsharks From Eastern North Atlantic, With First
Descriptions Of The Capsule Of Galeus Murinus And Apristurus
Aphyodes (Chondrichthyes: Scyliorhinidae). Cybium, Vol. 26 (1):
59-63.
Text: Richard Hurst.
Illustrations: Marc Dando.
Citation
Shark Trust; 2010. An Illustrated Compendium of Sharks, Skates, Rays
and Chimaera. Chapter 1: The British Isles and Northeast Atlantic. Part
2: Sharks.
Any ammendments or corrections, please contact:
The Shark Trust
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Tel: 01752 672008/672020
Email: [email protected]
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Text & Illustrations © Shark Trust 2009