NEWSLETTER 12/2014 06.12.2014

NEW PARTNERS OF SHARK-REFERENCES:

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News/own research from shark-references:

PALAEONTOS 26 Thomas Reinecke, Markus Balsberger, Bernhard Beaury & Jürgen Pollerspöck, 2014, The elasmobranch fauna of the Thalberg Beds, early Egerian (Chattian, Oligocene), in the Subalpine Molasse Basin near Siegsdorf, Bavaria, Germany (129 textpages, with 9 text figures and 38 plates) Abstract: A single bed of conglomeratic, fossil-rich marls intercalated in siliciclastic Lower Egerian deposits (informally denoted as Thalberg Beds, middle to late Chattian, Late Oligocene) yields a diverse elasmobranch fauna. The conglomeratic bed is exposed in the Thalberg Graben, a few km south of Traunstein, Upper Bavaria. It forms part of the Lower Marine Molasse, deposited in the North Alpine Foreland Basin representing the western prolongation of the Central Paratethys. 22 shark and 5 batoid taxa were recognized, of which 16 and 1, respectively, could be identified to species level. Shark species related to living taxa, actively swimming and foraging in the water column of the neritic zone (Notorynchus, Carcharias, Isurus, Galeorhinus, Alopias, Galeocerdo, Carcharhinus, Squalus and probably the fossil genera Otodus (Carcharocles), Araloselachus, Physogaleus and Carcharoides), dominate the fauna both by the number of observed taxa and collected teeth. Species of planktivorous sharks and batoids are few and their gill rakers (Keasius) and teeth (Mobula, Megachasma) are very rarely encountered. Sharks and batoids inhabiting present-day and past benthic or epibenthic habitats, typically of warm-temperate shelf seas, are strongly underrepresented (scyliorhinids, dasyatids, myliobatids) or completely absent (rajoids) in the Thalberg assemblage. On the other hand, various taxa of deep-water sharks (Hexanchus, Heptranchias, Echinorhinus, Centrophorus) are variably common. The composition of the Thalberg elasmobranch assemblage differs significantly from well documented assemblages of the Chattian warm-temperate/subtropical North Sea shelf, mainly with respect to shallow-marine, benthic and deep-water species. ORDER visit: http://www.palaeontos.be/26/det26.htm

New images at shark-references:

• Simon Weigmann, Hamburg for the image of  the new described Apristurus breviventralis KAWAUCHI, WEIGMANN & NAKAYA, 2014:
  
  
• Ana Verissimo, Portugal for some images of different Centrophorus species, e.g. Centrophorus cf. uyato:
  
  
  For more images please visit:
  https://shark-references.com/species/view/Centrophorus-squamosus
  https://shark-references.com/species/view/Centrophorus-lusitanicus
  https://shark-references.com/species/view/Centrophorus-isodon
  https://shark-references.com/species/view/Centrophorus-granulosus
   
• Arve Lynghammar, Arctic University of Norway for a image of Amblyraja hyperborea (COLLETT, 1879):
  
  
  
   
• Colin Simpendorfer for a image of Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos (BLEEKER, 1856):
  
  
   
• Palaeo Publishing & Library for a image of Echinorhinus pfauntschi PFEIL, 1983:
  
  
   

Missing papers:

Many thanks to all friends of shark-references, who send me some missing papers last month!

Shark-References would kindly like to ask you for your contribution to this project.

At the moment I search e.g. the following papers:

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom:

DENTON, E.J. & NICOL, J.A.C. 1964 The choroidal tapeta of some cartilaginous fishes. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 44 (1): 219-258

STEVENS, J.D. 1973 Stomach contents of the blue shark (Prionace glauca L.) of south-west England. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 53 (2): 357-361

BOXSHALL, G.A. 1974 Infections with parasitic copepods in North Sea marine fishes. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 54 (2): 355-372, figs. 1-2, tabs. 1-3

JOHANSSON-SJOBECK, M.L. & STEVENS, J.D. 1976 Haematological studies on the blue shark, Prionace glauca L. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 56: 237-240.

CRAIK, J.C.A. 1978 The lipids of six species of shark. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 58 (4): 913-921

FÄNGE, R. 1982 Exogenous otoliths in elasmobranchs. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 62: 225

BONE, Q. & CHUBB, A.D. 1983 The retial system of the locomotor muscles in the thresher shark. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 63 (1): 239-241

MORRIS, R.J. & BALLANTINE, J.A. & ROBERTS, J.C. 1983 The sterol composition of some shark livers. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 63 (2): 295-299

SMITH, R.L. & RHODES, D. 1983 Body temperature of the salmon shark, Lamna ditropis. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 63 (1): 243-244

LLEWELLYN, J. & GREEN, J.E. & KEARN, G.C. 1984 A check-list of monogenean (platyhelminth) parasites of Plymouth hosts. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 64 (4): 881-887

SMALE, M.J. & SAUER, W.H.H. & HANLON, R.T. 1995 Attempted ambush predation on spawning squids Loligo vulgaris reynaudii by benthic pyjama sharks, Poroderma africanum, off South Africa. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 75 (3): 739-742

SIMS, D.W. & DAVIES, S.J. & BONE, Q. 1996 Gastric emptying rate and return of appetite in lesser spotted dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 76 (2): 479-491

Journal of Ichthyology:

PINCHUK, V.I. & PERMITIN, Y.Y. 1970 New data on dogfish sharks of the Family Squalidae in the southeastern Atlantic. Journal of Ichthyology, 10 (3): 273-276

RASS, T.S. & LINDBERG, G.U. 1971 Modern concepts of the classification of living fishes. Journal of Ichthyology, 11: 302-319

GUBANOV, Y.P. 1972 On the biology of the thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre)) in the northwest Indian Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 12 (4): 591-600, figs 1-2, tabs 1-3

DOMANEVSKIY, L.N. 1975 The Frill Shark, Chlamydoselachus anguineus, from the Cape Blanc Area (Central Eastern Atlantic). Journal of Ichthyology, 15 (6): 1000-1002

GUBANOV, Y.P. & GRIGOREV, V.N. 1975 Distribution and biology of the blue shark Prionace glauca (Carcharhinidae) of the Indian Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 15: 37-43

GUBANOV, Y.P. 1976 The first catch of a tagged thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus). Journal of Ichthyology, 16 (3): 497-498

SVETLOV, M.F. 1978 The porbeagle, Lamna nasus, in Antarctic waters. Journal of Ichthyology, 18 (5): 850-851

GUBANOV, Y.P. 1978 The reproduction of some species of pelagic sharks from the equatorial zone of the Indian Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 18: 781-792

MYAGKOV, N.A. & KONDYURIN, V.V. 1978 Reproduction of the catshark Apristurus saldanha. Journal of Ichthyology, 4: 627-628

KONSTANTINOV, K.G. & NIZOVTSEV, G.P. 1979 The basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus, in Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea. Journal of Ichthyology, 19 (1): 155-156

PIOTROVSKIY, A.S. & PRUT'KO, V.G. 1980 The occurrence of the goblin shark, Scapanorhynchus owstoni (Chondrichthyes, Scapanorhynchidae) in the Indian Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 20 (1): 124-125

TUMOKHIN, I.G. 1980 Discovery of the frill shark, Chlamydoselachus anguineus, in the southwest Indian Ocean.  Journal of Ichthyology, 20 (1): 125-126

PINCHUK, V.I. 1981 Mistaken identification of the so-called "dogfish", a member of the gray shark genus, Carcharhinus , from open waters of world oceans. Journal of Ichthyology, 21 (5): 115-117

LITVINOV, F.F. 1982 Two forms of teeth in Blue shark, Prionace glauca (Carcharhinidae). Journal of Ichthyology, 22 (4): 154-156

LITVINOV, F.F. & AGAPOV, S.N. & KATALIMOV, V.G. & MIRONOV, S.G. 1983 Rate of tooth Replacement in Blue Shark, Prionace glauca (Carcharhinidae), in relation to Feeding. Journal of Ichthyology, 23 (1): 143-145

KONDYURIN, V.V. & MYAGKOV, N.A. 1983 Catches of newborn Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus (Bloch and Schneider) (Dalatiidae). Journal of Ichthyology, 23 (6): 140-141

MYAGKOV, N.A. 1984 Unusual brain structure of luminous shark, Isistius brasiliensis (Dalatiidae). Journal of Ichthyology, 24 (2): 109-112

GUBANOV, E.P. 1985 Presence of the sharp tooth sand shark, Odontaspis ferox (Odontaspididae), in the open waters of the Indian Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 25 (2): 156-158

PARIN, N.V. & KOTLYAR, A.N. 1985 Electric rays of the genus Torpedo in open waters of the eastern south Pacific Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 26 (1): 1-12

GOLOVAN, G.A. & PAKHORUKOV, N.P. 1986 New records of rare species of cartilaginous fishes.  Journal of Ichthyology, 26: 117-120

MYAGKOV, N.A. & KONDYURIN, V.V. 1986 Dogfishes Squalus (Squalidae), of the Atlantic Ocean and comparative notes on the species of this genus from other regions. Journal of Ichthyology, 27 (1): 1-18

IVANOV, A. 1986 A new capture of the rare catshark, Apristurus longicephalus (Scyliorhinidae). Journal of Ichthyology, 27 (1): 147-149

IVANOV, A. 1987 On the distribution of the bigeye thresher shark, Alopias superciliosus, in the Pacific Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 26 (5): 121-122, fig

GUSHCHIN, A.V. & SUKHOVERSHIN, V.V. & KONOVALENKO, I.I. & SUKHORUKOVA, V.S. 1987 On the capture of the polar shark genus Somniosus (Squalidae) in the Southern Hemisphere. Journal of Ichthyology, 27 (1): 115-117

SHCHERBACHEV, Y.N. 1987 Preliminary list of thalassobathyal fishes of the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 27 (2): 37-46

MYAGKOV, N.A. 1987 External structure of the cephalic brain of the pelagic shark, Squaliolus laticaudus. Journal of Ichthyology, 27 (6): 125-127

GUBANOV, E.P. 1988 Morphological characteristics of the requiem shark, Carcharinus obscurus , of the Indian Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 28 (6): 68-73

KASHKIN, N.I. 1989 Mesopelagic ichthyofauna of the southwestern Pacific. Journal of Ichthyology, 29 (3): 116-127, tabs 1-4

BERESTOVSKIY, E.G. 1990 Feeding in the skates, Raja radiata and Raja fyllae, in the Barents and Norwegian seas. Journal of Ichthyology, 29 (8): 88-96

MANILO, L.G. 1993 New reports of fish on the shelf and upper slope of the Western Indian Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 33 (1): 128-136

BLAGODEROV, A.I. 1994 Seasonal distribution and some notes on the biology of salmon shark (Lamna ditropis) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 34 (2): 115-121, figs 1-2, table

ROMANOV, E.V. & SAMOROV, V.V. 1994 On discoveries of the crocodile shark, Pseudocarcharias kamoharai (Pseudocarchariidae), in the Equatorial Indian Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology, 34 (4): 155-157

SAVELEV, S.V. & CHERNIKOV, V.P. 1994 The oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus, and its use of aerial olfaction in search for food. Journal of Ichthyology, 34 (6): 38-47

PSHENICHNOV, L.K. 1997 A new record for subantarctic fish fauna species of shark Squalus acanthias (Squalidae). Journal of Ichthyology, 37 (8): 678-679

SOKOLOVSKAYA, T.G. & SOKOLOVSKII, A.S. & SOBOLEVSKII, E.I. 1998 A list of fishes of Peter the Great Bay (the Sea of Japan). Journal of Ichthyology, 38 (1): 1-11

NOVIKOV, N.P. 2002 Ecology of the ratfish Hydrolagus africanus (Gilchrist) from the Madagascar and Mozambique submarine ridges. Journal of Ichthyology, 42 (3): 271-274

MANILO, L.G. & BOGORODSKY, S.V. 2003 Taxonomic composition, diversity and distribution of coastal fishes of the Arabian Sea. Journal of Ichthyology, 43 (1): 75-149

Annals and Magazine of Natural History

COUCH, J. 1838 Description of a species of ray-fish, not hitherto included in the British fauna. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, (Series 1), 2: 71-73

CHARLESWORTH, E. 1839 On the remains of a species of Hybodus from Lyme Regis. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, (Series 3): 242-248

Aqua, International Journal of Ichyology

LASSO, C.A. & RIAL, B.A. & LASSO-ALCALA, O. 1997 Notes on the biology of the freshwater stingrays Paratrygon aiereba (Müller & Henle, 1841) and Potamotrygon orbignyi (Castelnau, 1855) (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae) in the Venezuelan Llanos. Aqua, International Journal of Ichyology, 2 (3): 39-50

HUMAN, B.A. 2011 Description of a unique catshark egg capsule (Chondrichthyes: Scyliorhinidae) from the North West Shelf, Western Australia. Aqua, International Journal of Ichyology, 17 (4): 199-209

Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

WESTOLL, T.S. 1947 The Paired Fins of Placoderms. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 61 (2): 381-398

DICK, J.R.F. 1978 On the Carboniferous shark Tristychius arcuatus Agassiz from Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 70 (4): 63-109

COATES, M.I. & SEQUEIRA, S.E.K. 1998 The braincase of a primitive shark. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Earth Sciences, 89: 63-85

Please support www.shark-references.com and send missing papers (not listed papers or papers without the infosymbol) to juergen.pollerspoeck@shark-references.com.

Meetings:

New described species/Taxonomic News:

Rezent:

Apristurus breviventralis KAWAUCHI, WEIGMANN & NAKAYA, 2014, holotype, © Simon Weigmann, Hamburg

KAWAUCHI, J. & WEIGMANN, S. & NAKAYA, K. (2014): Apristurus breviventralis, a new species of deep-water catshark (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhiniformes: Scyliorhinidae) from the Gulf of Aden. Zootaxa, 3881 (1): 001–016

New species: Apristurus breviventralis
 
Abstract: A new deep-water catshark of the genus Apristurus Garman, 1913 is described based on nine specimens from the Gulf of Aden in the northwestern Indian Ocean. Apristurus breviventralis sp. nov. belongs to the ‘brunneus group’ of the genus and is characterized by having pectoral-fin tips reaching beyond the midpoint between the paired fin bases, a much shorter pectoral-pelvic space than the anal-fin base, a low and long-based anal fin, and a first dorsal fin located behind pelvic-fin insertion. The new species most closely resembles the western Atlantic species Apristurus canutus, but is distinguishable in having greater nostril length than internarial width and longer claspers in adult males. Apristurus breviventralis sp. nov. represents the sixth species of Apristurus from the western Indian Ocean and the 38th species globally.
 

Fossiles:

PLEASE send your new papers tojuergen.pollerspoeck@shark-references.com!

New Paper

Recent Papers:

Parasitology:

Fossil:

MISCELLANEOUS:

Cool 3D Video of a Dalatias (No Isistius) jaw! Enjoy it! Use the link: Post by Imaging and Analysis Centre, Natural History Museum.


 

Absurd Creature of the Week: The Nightmarish Shark That Lures Victims With Its Effed Up Teeth

Don’t confuse that for a smile. This shark is dead, and that’s nothing to smile about.  David A. Ebert

Not unlike Garth Brooks concerts and Applebee’s, the deep sea is one of those places you don’t need to visit to know that it sucks. Down in the depths, mates are hard to find, thus the male anglerfish bites onto a female and fuses to her body, living the rest of his bummer of a life as a gonad. In the blackness seeing is next to impossible, even with the huge eyes of, say, the giant squid. And you really never know when you’ll get your next meal, so you’d do well to have an outsized mouth to take on whatever comes your way.

It also doesn’t hurt to have row after row of backward-facing, needle-like teeth—hundreds and hundreds of them, each forked into three nasty prongs. Such is the grotesque mouth of the frilled shark, surely one of the more bizarre sharks in the sea. And it’s a mouth that biologist David A. Ebert, director of the Pacific Shark Research Center, knows all too well to respect.

“I can tell you from snagging my fingers on the teeth, you can only back out one way and that’s in toward the mouth and then out,” he said. “It didn’t feel good, I can tell you that.”

Now, science has known about the frilled shark since the 19th century, but it was Ebert who first described a second species in 2009, some 20 years after he discovered it off the coast of southern Africa. (“It happens a lot of the time,” he said nonchalantly of the delay. “You get stuck trying to go through the publishing process.”) At 3 feet long, it was about half the length of the previously known species, but no less well equipped with nasty teeth.

“Alright, Mr. DeMille. I’m ready for my closeup.  OpenCage/Wikimedia

Perfect, Ebert says, for not only snagging squid, but luring them. In contrast to the shark’s dark brown or grayish skin, “the bright teeth might serve as almost a lure to bring in prey items that see this light color,” he said. “And by the time they realize,Oh, that’s the teeth of a shark, they’re too close and the shark is able to ambush them at that point.”

“It’s almost like when you drive out of a parking lot exit and they have the spikes sticking out that say, ‘Do not back up,’” he added. “That’s kind of what happens when these things catch prey items.”

As if that weren’t enough, there are extra spines that line the mouth, what are known as dermal denticles. These are scales that have been modified into pseudo-teeth—and in fact all shark teeth are scales. Incredibly, over the course of their evolution, sharks have turned scales into all manner of wonderful chompers, from the 6-inch teeth of megalodon to the frilled shark’s pronged pearly whites to the fused picket-fence-like grill of the cookiecutter shark that took a chunk out of a dude I once had the honor of interviewing.

The dermal denticles, essentially an extra set of teeth along the lips.  David A. Ebert

You may have also noticed that the shape of the frilled shark’s mouth is a bit peculiar, more like a snake’s than a shark’s. This is no accident. It’s likely an adaptation that allows the shark to gape far wider than a shark with a typical mouth orientation. (It’s worth noting that the frilled shark’s deep-sea cousin, the goblin shark, has its own lovely oral adaptation: jaws that fire so far forward they look like they’re trying to escape from its face.)

Because it has that incredible maw, the frilled shark can take prey up to half the length of its own body, including other sharks (that’s like you swallowing a person half your height, if you were looking for an analogy). Again, the better adapted you are to tackle prey of all sizes in a desolate environment, the better equipped you are to survive. “It’s kind of a contrast from, say, the white sharks, which sometimes bite and spit things out,” Ebert said. “But where they’re hunting they probably have a better chance of coming across something again.” White sharks will return to spots where the hunting is good, and while frilled sharks may do the same, there’s no doubting that their stomping grounds are far less productive than a reef ecosystem.

 

The frilled shark is so named for its fluffy red gills, which may help it thrive in oxygen-deprived environments. In the depths, you see, sometimes there’s enough oxygen, on account of good currents and the fact cold water more readily absorbs the gas than warm, but there often are zones where blooms of bacteria consume all the oxygen. Ebert cautions, though, that there isn’t enough data on frilled sharks to confirm that their frilly gills are an adaptation to cope with low oxygen levels.

Also a bit of a mystery is the shark’s life cycle. Critters in the deep tend to grow slowly to conserve energy because of the relative lack of food. And the frilled shark is no exception. It’s viviparous, meaning its young develop inside the mother, and according to Ebert, this can take an incredible two years (a colleague of his estimates it could be as long as three and a half years), making their gestation among the longest in the animal kingdom—the elephant’s also clocks in at abouttwo years.

A frilled shark that goes by the name H0-34, sometimes mispronounced HO-34.  David A. Ebert

This prolonged pregnancy is an excellent strategy—if you look past the two years of weird cravings for pickles and the back pain—because the highly developed babies, as many as a dozen of them, are better suited to take on their world. “So they have larger young that are able to fend for themselves when they’re born,” said Ebert. “A lot of the bony fishes, things like salmon and stuff, they put out millions of eggs, and maybe two out of a million will survive. Whereas with the sharks and rays, they’re looking at having a much higher percentage survive.” Still, there’s an advantage in the spray-and-pray method: You can do it often, and it takes nowhere near the energy of viviparity.

The frilled shark’s epic commitment to its young was all well and good until humans showed up. Because many deep-sea creatures like the frilled shark take so long to develop, and because they have so few young in their lifetime, fishing puts a tremendous strain on their populations. While fishermen aren’t necessarily setting out to snag the frilled shark, the creatures do get tangled up in trawlers as by-catch. Accordingly, the IUCN has listed it as a near threatened species.

But here’s to hoping we can get our act together and start seriously tackling the problem of overfishing, before sharks fight back by evolving to walk on land. I mean, did you ever watch Street Sharks? Anything is possible if it happened in a horrifying ’90s-era cartoon.