Mandarin Shark, Cirrhigaleus australis White, Last & Stevens, 2007
Southern Mandarin Dogshark
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© Australian Museum
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Cirrhigaleus
- Species
- australis
- Family
- Squalidae
- Order
- Squaliformes
- Class
- Chondrichthyes
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- The species grows to 1.2 m in length.
Introduction
The Mandarin Shark has two dorsal fins that are both preceded by a long spine. Until recently the species was confused with Cirrhigaleus barbifer, which occours in more northerly waters.
Identification
The Mandarin Shark has two widely spaced dorsal fins that are both preceded by a long spine. There is a pair of long nasal lobes on the underside of the snout.
It is grey-brown above and pale below. The posterior margins of the pectoral and pelvic fins are white.
For many years the species was confused with the Cirrhigaleus barbifer, which occurs in the western North Pacific and Indonesia. The two species can be distinguished by morphology and differences in the CO1 gene. The Mandarin Shark has a smaller eye, shorter dorsal-caudal space and smaller pectoral fins, dorsal fins and spines.
Habitat
The species is found in continental slope waters at depths between 360 m and 640 m.
Distribution
The Mandarin Shark occurs of south-eastern Australia and from the Bay of Plenty region, North Island, New Zealand.
In Australia it is known from off the Sydney region, New South Wales to off eastern Tasmania.
References
- Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513.
- White, W.T., Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 2007. Cirrhigaleus australis n. sp., a new Mandarin dogfish (Squaliformes: Squalidae) from the south-west Pacific. Zootaxa. 1560: 19-30.
