Portuguese Dogfish [Centroscymnus coelolepis]
Description
The Portuguese Dogfish is a deep-sea shark, typically found at depths between 400 and 3,100 meters. It is one of the deepest living sharks known. This species has a slim body, small eyes, a pointed snout, and large, hook-like teeth. They grow to about 1.2 meters in length. The Portuguese Dogfish feeds primarily on fish, including other sharks, and squid, hunting alone and swallowing its prey whole. It is ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs develop inside the body of the female, who gives birth to live young.
Taxonomy
| Phylum |
Chordates
Chordata
|
|---|---|
| Class |
Cartilaginous Fish
Chondrichthyes
|
| Order |
Dogfish Sharks
Squaliformes
|
| Family |
Sleeper Sharks
Somniosidae
|
| Genus |
Portuguese Dogfish
Centroscymnus
|