Birdbeak Dogfish

Shark Database | Dog and Angelfish Sharks - Squaliformes | Birdbeak Dogfish

About the Birdbeak Dogfish

The Birdbeak Dogfish is a shark of the family Centrophoridae, mainly found in the Pacific Ocean, Southern Australia and the Atlantic Ocean.

Biology and Description

The Birdbeak Dogfish has a very long, narrow snout, no anal fin and low dorsal fins with grooved spines. The pectoral fins are small and triangular with pitchfork-like denticles. This species reaches a maximum size of 162 cm (5.3 ft). Males reach maturity at 73 to 94 cm (2.4–3.1 ft) and females at about 90 to 106 cm (3.0–3.5 ft) in total length.

Their diet consists of fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans. There appears to be size and sex segregation by depth, females being rarely caught around their common areas.

Reproduction

The reproduction mode is ovoviviparous, meaning embryos develop inside the mother’s body and feed on yolk. Females usually give birth to between 6 and 12 pups per litter, each measuring from 28 to 34 cm (11.0–13.4 in) at birth. Their gestation period is non-seasonal and the breeding cycle is non-continuous.

Habitat

The Birdbeak Dogfish is a bathydemersal deepwater shark with a wide but patchy distribution. It is found on continental and insular shelves and slopes, usually on or near the bottom, at depths ranging from 60 to 1,600 m (197–5,249 ft). Most individuals have been recorded at depths greater than 400 m (1,312 ft).

Its distribution ranges from the eastern Atlantic (Iceland to Angola Bay, South Africa), Western Pacific (southern Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) Eastern Pacific (from northern Peru to southern Chile).

Conservation

This species is taken by trawl, longline and gillnet fisheries, both as a target species and as bycatch, and is used for its flesh and liver oil. The IUCN assessed the Birdbeak Dogfish as Near Threatened because its global population is declining.

In Australia, deep-water sharks, including the Birdbeak Dogfish, are managed as a multispecies stock. Management measures include total allowable catches (TACs).

Do you have images or videos of Birdbeak Dogfishs?
Submit them to [email protected].