Pseudotriakis microdon

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Family : False catsharks ; Found on the continental and insular slopes , occasionally wandering onto continental shelves[1]. Inactive and sluggish[1]. Probably eats bony fishes, elasmobranchs and invertebrates [2]. Ovoviviparous, embryos feeding on yolk sac and other ova produced by the mother, uterine milk is consumed additionally[3]. Utilization not recorded[1].

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Habitat

Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -3,812 meters (0 to -12,507 feet).[4]

Biome: Marine .

Ecology: A large deepwater benthic shark recorded from depths of 200 to 1,890 m on the continental and insular slopes , including around seamounts , troughs and deepwater reefs. This species is occasionally recorded on the continental shelves including in shallow water. This may be abnormal behaviour or where submarine canyons extend close to shore (Compagno in prep. b ). The anatomy of this shark (large body cavity , soft fins , musculature and skin ) suggests an inactive and sluggish lifestyle (Compagno in prep. b).

Maximum size 296 cm total length (TL ) (female), 295 cm TL (male) (Yano 1992); mature individuals 200 to 269 cm TL (males), 212 to 295 cm TL (females) (Compagno in prep. b). Taniuchi et al. (1984) observed near-term embryos of 112 and 113 cm TL, and Yano (1992) at 116 to 120 cm TL. A 156 cm TL immature female had an umbilical scar (Yano 1992). Size at birth 120 to 150 cm TL (Yano, unpubl. data ).

Forster et al. (1970) suggested that P. microdon was oophagous based on the large number of ova (estimated at 20,000) of 9 mm mean diameter observed in the ovary of a 280 cm TL female. Taniuchi et al. (1984) reported mid-term and near-term embryos with stomachs full of yolk . Yano (1992) confirmed the existence of oophagy in this species showing that embryos ingest and utilise yolk material from ovulated ova. Yolk material was observed in the uteri of gravid females and the stomachs of two embryos contained yolk material and egg capsules. Yano (1992) reported that the reproductive mode in this species is a modified form of oophagy in which embryos appear to transfer yolk from ingested egg fragments to their external yolk sac , replenishing external yolk sac reserves and using them in the last stages of gestation . Reported litter size of this species is two (Taniuchi et al. 1984, Yano 1992, Stewart 2000) but may be four according to Compagno (in prep. b). Gestation period is unknown, but is presumed to be > 1 year and possibly more than two or three years (Yano unpublished data).

Yano and Musick (1992) found that this species feeds predominantly on teleost fishes (52.8% frequency of occurrence in North Pacific specimens, 80% in South Pacific specimens). Other prey items included etmopterid sharks , squid and octopi. Its very large mouth may allow prey items of considerable size to be ingested (Compagno in prep. b). False catsharks have been photographed in the Indian Ocean (feeding on teleosts used as bait on the camera ) and from a submersible off the Hawaiian Islands (feeding on heterocarpid prawns at the entrance to a trap) (Compagno in prep. b).[5].

List of Habitats :

•     10     Marine Oceanic   
  
•     10.1     Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m)   
[more info]

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Pseudotriakis acrages Jordan & Snyder • Pseudotriakis acrales • Pseudotriakis acrales Jordan & Snyder • Pseudotriakis microdon Capello • Pseudotriakis microdon Capello, 1867 • Pseudotriakis microdon Capello, 1868 • Pseudotriakis microdon de Brito Capello, 1868

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Comment: Author and year from Eschmeyer56787 .

Last scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 28-Oct-2000

Yano and Musick (1992) showed that morphometric characters used to separate Pacific Pseudotriakis acrales Jordan & Snyder, 1904 from Atlantic P. microdon Capello, 1868 did not differ significantly, and these authors confirmed P. acrales as a junior synonm of P. microdon. Pseudotriakis is thus a mono-specific genus.[5].

Similar Species

Members of the genus Pseudotriakis

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species and subspecies in this genus:

P. acrales (Pseudotropheus Ice Blue) · P. microdon (Atlantic False Catshark)

More Info

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Further Reading

• ... Catalogue of the fishes of New York. By Tarleton H. Bean. .. Albany, University of the state of New York, 1903. url p. 18.
• ... The genera of fishes. .. A contribution to the stability of scientific nomenclature. By David Starr Jordan. Stanford University, Calif., The University, 1917-1920. url p. 349.
• A bibliography of fishes, by Bashford Dean. .. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1916-1923. url p. 214, p. 214.
• A guide to the study of fishes, by David Starr Jordan. .. New York, H. Holt and Company, 1905. url p. 536.
• A list of common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. Report presented at the eighty-ninth annual meeting, Clearwater, Fla., Sept. 16-18, 1959. Ann Arbor, Mich., 1960. url p. 7.
• Annual report / New York State Museum. Albany, N.Y.: University of the State of New York, c1904-1920. url p. 18, p. 739.
• Bulletin - New York State Museum. Albany: New York State Education Dept. url p. 18, p. 739.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. url , p. 118.
• Catalogue of scientific papers (1800-1900) Comp. by the Royal society of London. Cambridge, C. J. Clay and sons, 1867-1902; url p. 266.
• Catalogue of scientific papers, 1800-1900. CambridgeUniversity Press1908-14 url p. 266.
• Commercial fisheries review. [Washington]: National Marine Fisheries Service; [for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.] url p. 55.
• Copeia. [New York, N.Y., etc.]: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. url p. 36.
• Fishery bulletin. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, The Service, U.S. Govt Print. Off. url p. 595.
• Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Editorial board: editor-in-chief John Tee-Van [and others] New Haven, Sears Foundation for Marine Research, Yale Univ., 1948- url , p. 228, p. 229, p. 230, p. 232, p. 60.
• Fishes, New York, H. Holt and Company, 1907. url .
• Fishes, by David Starr Jordan. .. with 18 colored plates and 673 illustrations. .. New York, H. Holt and Company, 1907. url p. 193.
• Guide to marine fishes; [a new method for identification of marine fishes. New York]New York University Press[1961] url p. 230, p. 239, p. 429.
• Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. Cambridge [Mass.]: The Museum, 1876-1940. url p. 104, p. 8.
• Pamphlets on forestry. Fish and game. [1900?- url , p. 3224.
• Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] url p. 86.
• Report of the Commissioner for. .. / United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Washington: G.P.O., 1874-1905. url p. 214, p. 214.
• Report of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries for the fiscal year. .. with appendixes Washington: G.P.O., 1914- url p. 12.
• Shadows in the sea: the sharks, skates and rays [by] Harold W. McCormick and Tom Allen, with William E. Young. Philadelphia, Chilton Books[1963] url figure , p. 320.
• The Cambridge natural history, London, Macmillan and Co., Limited;1895-1909 url , .
• The Cambridge natural history, ed. by S.F. Harmer. .. and A.E. Shipley. .. London, Macmillan and co., limited;1895-1909 url p. 447, p. 752.
• The Canadian field-naturalist. Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. url p. 514, p. 516, p. 720, p. 721, p. 737.
• The Journal of the College of Science, Imperial University of Tokyo, Japan = Tokyo Teikoku Daigaku kiyo. Rika. Tokyo, Japan: The University, 1898-1925. url p. 17.
• The Plagiostomia: Sharks, skates, and rays / by Samuel Garman; with seventy-seven plates. 36 1913 Cambridge, U.S.A.: Printed for the Museum, 1913. url p. 104, p. viii.
• The fishes of North and Middle America a descriptive catalogue of the species of fish-like vertebrates found in the waters of North America, north of the Isthmus of Panama / by David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann. Washington: G.P.O., 1898. url .
• The genera of fishes. ..: A contribution to the stability of scientific nomenclature / By David Starr Jordan. Stanford University, Calif.: The University, 1917-1920. url p. 349.

Notes

Contributors

• Amaoka, Kunio (from FishBase).
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.
• FishBase. Release date: January 5, 2010
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 01, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 3 providers.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Kyne, P.M., Kazunari Yano & White, W.T. 2004. Pseudotriakis microdon. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 04February2012.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 01, 2008:

• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: iziko South African Museum - Fish Collection
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: iziko South African Museum - Shark Collection
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: South Western Pacific Regional OBIS Data provider for the NIWA Marine Biodata Information System
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
• OZCAM (Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums) Provider: Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums
• Senckenberg: Collection Pisces

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 136725
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-30530
• Fishbase Species ID: 2536
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13536151
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 160116
• IUCN ID: 237426
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 122450

Footnotes

1. Compagno, L.J.V. (1998). Pseudotriakidae. False catsharks. p. 1296. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO identification guide for fishery purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO, Rome. [back]
2. Compagno, L.J.V. (1984). FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2. Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. (125, Vol. 4, Part 2), 655 p. [back]
3. Dulvy, N.K. and J.D. Reynolds (1997). Evolutionary transitions among egg-laying, live-bearing and maternal inputs in sharks and rays. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 264:1309-1315. [back]
4. Mean = -1,974.500 meters (-6,478.018 feet), Standard Deviation = 2,107.490 based on 8 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
5. Kyne, P.M., Kazunari Yano & White, W.T. 2004. Pseudotriakis microdon. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.