Deania calcea (Birdbeak dogfish)

(Lowe, 1839)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Chondrichthyes > Elasmobranchii > Squalomorphii > Squaliformes > Centrophoridae

Deania calcea (Birdbeak dogfish) [Illustration by Ann Hecht ©]

Identification

A grey long-nosed dogfish with a long, low 1st dorsal fin and no subcaudal keel.

Size

To 1.1 m TL.

Range

Namibia to Algoa Bay; elsewhere from most temperate and tropical seas.

Habitat

Upper slopes at 475 to 894 m, usually on or near the bottom but occasionally well above it.

Biology

Common but sporadic, apparently in large schools. Probably bears 6 to 12 young. Feeds on small pelagic bony fish, including lanternfish, barracudinas, and hatchetfish, also squid, octopi, and shrimp.

Human Impact

Occasionally caught by hake trawlers, potentially valuable for its squalene-rich liver oil.

Text by Leonard J.V. Compagno, David A. Ebert and Malcolm J. Smale