NEWSLETTER 01/2015 26.01.2015

NEW PARTNERS OF SHARK-REFERENCES:

Partner in Google-Maps: 
  
                        

News/own research from shark-references:




 

• Update on extant valid species summaries: species summaries are now linked to Gbif (www.gbif.org) and the Barcode of Life project (www.barcodeoflife.org). Gbif provides regularly updated georeferenced distribution maps, the BOLD link allows users to check the barcode of life project for available COI sequences of species.
   
• Shark references species summaries for CITES species introduced on CITES webpage: http://www.cites.org/eng/prog/shark/resource_Parties_stakeholders
   
• Nicolas Straube joined us as Co-Editor. Nico is a postdoc at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (www.zsm.mwn.de) as well as the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena (http://www2.uni-jena.de/biologie/zoologie/).https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nicolas_Straube
  
  contact: nicolas.straube@shark-references.com

New images at shark-references:

• Andy Murch, Elasmodiver for the images of Somniosus microcephalus:
  
  
  
  for more images of Andy please vistit:
  Somniosus microcephalus
  Centrophorus granulosus
   
• Charlene da Silva, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, South Africa for images of e.g. Rhinobatos blochii:
  
  
  
  for more images of Charlene please vistit:
  
  Rhinobatos blochii
  Alopias vulpinus
  Carcharhinus falciformis
  Pteroplatytrygon violacea
  Pseudocarcharias kamoharai
  Prionace glauca
  Haploblepharus edwardsii
   
• Rob Tarr, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, South Africa for images of e.g. Poroderma pantherinum:
  
  
  
  for more images of Rob please vistit:
  
  Poroderma pantherinum
  Notorynchus cepedianus
  Mustelus mustelus
  Lamna nasus
  Callorhinchus capensis
   
• Toño Maño, Tiburones en Galicia, Spain for images of Chlamydoselachus anguineus:
  
  
  
   
• David Morgan, Freshwater Fish Group & Fish Health Unit, School of Veterinary & Life Sciences, Murdoch, Australia for a image of Pristis pristis:
  
  
  
   
• Tiego Costa, Ocean Laboratory, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil for images of e.g. Dasyatis guttata:
  
  
  
  for more images of Tiego please vistit:
  
  Dasyatis marianae
   
• David Ebert, Pacific Shark Research Center for a image of the new describedChimaera carophila KEMPER, EBERT, NAYLOR, G.J.P. & DIDIER, 2014:
  
  
   
• Julia Spaet for a image of Carcharhinus falciformis:
  
  
   
• Dra. Cristina  Rodriguez-Cabello, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Santander, Spain for some images of Apristurus:
  
  
  
  Apristurus aphyodess
  Apristurus melanoasper
   
• Antonello Mulas, University of Cagliari, Italy for a image of Dipturus oxyrinchus:
  
  

Missing papers:

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

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

At the moment we 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 us missing papers (not listed papers or papers without the infosymbol) to juergen.pollerspoeck@shark-references.com or nicolas.straube@shark-references.com.

Upcoming Meetings:

• FSBI 2015, Plymouth, United Kingdom: Biology, Ecology And Conservation Of Elasmobranchs. University of Plymouth: Sherwell Centre and Portland Square Building. 27-31 July 2015. Details & registration: http://www.fsbi.org.uk/conference-2015/symposium-theme-3

 

• 14th DSBS, Aveiro, Portugal: 14th Deep Sea Biology Symposium. University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal, 31 August - 4 September 2015. Details & registration: http://14dsbs.web.ua.pt/14dsbs/Home.html

• 2015 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists University of Nevada, Reno, USA, 15-19 July 2015. Details & registration: http://global.k-state.edu/conf/jointmeeting/

• Want a meeting to be announced here: please send your information material and meeting logo to juergen.pollerspoeck@shark-references.com ornicolas.straube@shark-references.com.

New described species/Taxonomic News:

Extant:

Extinct:

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

Latest Research Articles

Extant Chondrichthyes:

Extinct Chondrichthyes:

Parasites:

MISCELLANEOUS:

Two new records of Chlamydoselachus anguineus:

First record: Chlamydoselachus anguineus GARMAN, 1884, 177 cm female caught at a depth of 695 m some 12 miles off the coast of Galicia in a gillnet; © Toño Maño, Tiburones en Galicia, Spain




 

Second record:

source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150122-frilled-shark-australia-deep-sea-creatures/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fb20150122news-shark&utm_campaign=Content&sf7066999=1

Rare Shark That Inspired Sea Monster Myths Is Caught
Frilled sharks are rarely seen denizens of the deep that resemble their dinosaur-era ancestors.
 

This frilled shark was pulled up from the waters off Australia this week, offering a rare look at a deep-sea creature.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SETFIA

Brian Clark Howard

National Geographic

PUBLISHED JANUARY 22, 2015

With its gaping, tooth-filled mouth and its slender, eel-like body, it’s not hard to see why scientists think the frilled shark may have inspired ancient tales of sea monsters. Looking like something out of a nightmare, the deep-sea creature is rarely seen. But fishers in Australia pulled one up this week.

The frilled shark is often called a “living fossil” because it is thought to have changed little in about 80 million years. The fish also bears a resemblance to ancestor species that lived during the time of the dinosaurs.

On Tuesday, Australian media reported that a fishing trawler pulled up a six-foot-long (two-meter) frilled shark in waters near Lakes Entrance off southeastern Victoria, Australia.

Simon Boag of Australia’s South East Trawl Fishing Association told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that no local fisher had ever seen the creature before. “It does look 80 million years old,” Boag told the ABC. “It looks prehistoric. It looks like it’s from another time!” (See rare video of another species of “sea serpent.”)

“It has 300 teeth over 25 rows, so once you’re in that mouth, you’re not coming out,” he said. 

The shark "was on its last legs" when it made it to the surface, Boag told National Geographic.

Boag said the frilled shark was caught in about 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) of water. The species has previously been found at depths up to 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) but is generally thought to live no deeper than 4,000 feet (1,200 meters).  than 4,000 feet (1,200 meters).

Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), confirmed that the specimen was a frilled shark.

Frilled sharks are occasionally seen at the surface, mostly when they are sick. Most known specimens have been around six feet (two meters) in length. But the California-based MarineBio Conservation Society says that the netting of a 25-foot-long (7.6-meter) shark related to the frilled shark in 1880 “suggests there may be some giant frilled sharks in the sea that could be taken for sea serpents.”

In 2007 a 5.3-foot-long (1.6-meter) frilled shark was found in shallow water in Japan and transferred to a marine park. It died hours after being caught.The shark "was on its last legs" when it made it to the surface, Boag told National Geographic.

Boag said the frilled shark was caught in about 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) of water. The species has previously been found at depths up to 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) but is generally thought to live no deeper 

The six-foot-long (two-meter) shark has a slender body and a mouth full of teeth.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SETFIA

 

The Protect Africa's Sawfishes project would be very grateful for any further donations of unused, point-and-shoot digital cameras to the project.

source: http://www.calacademy.org/press/releases/scientists-document-longest-ever-case-of-sperm-storage-in-sharks
Scientists document longest-ever case of sperm storage in sharks

A brownbanded bamboo shark at the California Academy of Sciences lays viable egg—with healthy pup—after 45-month seclusion from males

• © Timothy Wong at the California Academy of Sciences

SAN FRANCISCO (January 8, 2015) — Brownbanded bamboo sharks take the term “resourceful” to a whole new level. Steinhart Aquarium biologists at the California Academy of Sciences were taken aback when a shark egg case dropped by an adult bamboo shark showed signs of healthy development. The scientists had good reason for surprise: the aquarium’s female Chiloscyllium punctatum adults had spent nearly four years—45 months—in complete isolation from males.

When one viable egg resulted in the birth of a healthy pup, Academy scientists set out to examine this unprecedented example of sharks’ long-suspected (but little-documented) ability to store sperm over long periods of time. Their results, published in the Journal of Fish Biology, mark the longest documented case of sperm storage in any species of shark, and highlight a bright bit of news for the future of wild sharks threatened by overfishing and habitat loss.

“Long-term sperm storage—where a female can delay fertilization for months or even years after mating—is a remarkable adaptation that helps promote genetic diversity,” says Dr. Luiz Rocha, Academy Curator of Ichthyology. “In contrast, asexual reproduction produces offspring with very little genetic variation. Exploring the bamboo shark’s ability to store sperm gives us hope that wild sharks can help protect their population’s genetic diversity when mates are scarce and serious threats arise.”

The Academy’s scientific investigation began in 2010, when curious Academy biologist Nancy Sinai wondered whether any of the shark egg cases regularly found in the aquarium’s Shark Lagoon exhibit might be viable. Much like the hens that lay our breakfast eggs, many sharks are known to produce unfertilized eggs. Biologists transferred several brownish egg cases from the Lagoon into a separate incubator on public display, where two of the eggs showed signs of healthy embryonic development. While one egg failed to develop successfully, the other flourished. On January 21, 2012, a healthy bamboo shark pup emerged from its egg and began its life at the Academy’s Steinhart Aquarium.

A team of Academy scientists—including Rocha and Veterinarian Dr. Freeland Dunker—were left to investigate how this seemingly unlikely birth may have occurred in the absence of male sharks.

“It’s highly unlikely that the bamboo sharks mated with another individual in the aquarium,” says lead author Moisés A. Bernal, PhD candidate and researcher in the Academy’s Ichthyology Department. “All the other sharks in the Lagoon are female. There is one male Javanese cownose ray, but mating between sharks and rays is only a very remote possibility.”

Two guesses were more likely: either a female adult shark reproduced asexually in a process called “parthenogenesis” (as has been observed in four different shark species), or it had stored sperm from its last mating event several years before the fertilized egg appeared in the Lagoon. Aquarium records showed that the Academy’s three female bamboo sharks—each a possible mother to the new pup—had no contact with compatible males since their 2007 residence at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Southern California.

Armed with highly advanced genetic tools, scientists headed to the lab to solve the mystery of the brownbanded bamboo pup. Dunker and his veterinarian team removed tiny DNA-packed slivers from the fins of the pup and the three potential mothers during their annual physical exam. Researchers used this DNA to craft genetic profiles for each individual, and ran them through a series of genetic tests for comparison. In a strike against the asexual reproduction theory, the shark pup displayed comparable results with each female on a particular genetic test that looks at genetic variation within an individual. If the mother had reproduced asexually through parthenogenesis, the offspring would have shown less genetic variation than that of its mother.

The pup also displayed genetic material—in the form of 32 alleles, or parts of genes—absent from all three adult females. Study authors concluded that the young shark most likely inherited this “mystery” genetic material from its father—an unknown male from the long-ago tank at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

While the new study results are the first documentation of long-term sperm storage inC. punctatum, the advantageous adaptation has been observed in other sharks (and many other animals, including marsupials, insects, and frogs). After mating, some female sharks can store sperm in the tubules near their oviduct—an important reproductive area that helps produce the jelly-like substance that surrounds fertilized shark eggs.

The ability to store sperm gives females the power to produce young regardless of whether or not they are ovulating when mating occurs, and also means a potential pup will have unique genetic contributions from both its mother and its father. This type of genetic diversity is a boon for wild populations. Diversity is critical in maintaining the health of populations—especially those pared down by overfishing, environmental threats, and a lack of potential reproductive partners. Like a monoculture crop destroyed by a single pest species, populations that lack diversity are susceptible to widespread die-off in the face of significant threats.

“Questions remain,” adds Bernal, in reference to next research steps. “We know that several species of sharks have reproductive tactics like storing sperm or reproducing by parthenogenesis in the absence of males, but we need to know when and how these alternate techniques are triggered. Understanding these mechanisms—and how they impact genetic diversity—could be vital for the future of shark conservation.”