1 Tahrcountry Musings: New Shark Species Found on way to dinner table

Sunday, September 04, 2011

New Shark Species Found on way to dinner table


Here is a big surprise. Fish taxonomists found a previously unknown shark,   Squalus formosus n. sp, at a fish market in Taiwan. It belongs to the ‘highfin megalops group.  Members of this group have a short snout, high dorsal fins, robust dorsal spines, tricuspid denticles and a white posterior caudal margin. 

The new species is a one-meter-long short-nosed dogfish. It's distinguished from other dogfish species in the Squalus genus by a particularly upright first fin on its back, a strong spine, and a very short, rounded head.
The new species is described in August 26 issue of Journal of Fish Biology.


Squalus formosus, a new species of spurdog shark (Squaliformes: Squalidae), from the western North Pacific Ocean

W. T. White and S. P. Iglésias

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