Kermadec Spiny Dogfish

About the Kermadec Spiny Dogfish

The Squalus Raoulensis, also known as the Kermadec Spiny Dogfish, is a deepwater shark that belongs to the Squalidae family and is superficially very similar to the Northern Spiny Dogfish but is a member of the S. megalops-cubensis species.

Biology:

This is a small, demersal upper slope species, only known from oceanic ridges and seamounts in the subtropical Southwest Pacific. Specimens have been collected at 250-500 m, and it appears to the most abundant above 300 m depth. Males mature at 65.1 cm TL, females size at maturity is unknown, paratype was immature at 72.9 cm TL. Their diet and reproductive biology are unknown.

Habitat:

The Kermadec Spiny Dogfish is known from the Kermadec Islands (north of New Zealand) in the southwest Pacific, specifically around Raoul Island, and south to at least Curtis and Chessemean Island. Bottom longline and dropline catch-effort and submersible footage indicate that Squalus spp. Are abundant at upper slope depths around the Kermadec Islands.

Conservation:

At present, the only potential anthropogenic threat to the Kermadec Spiny Dogfish is commercial fishing. However, there is little or no commercial line fishing in demersal habitats on the Kermadec Ridge. Bottom trawling is banned on the Kermadec and Colville Ridges until at least 2013. Collection of taxonomic material from suitable areas of habitat in the Southwest Pacific is required to determine the full distribution of this species.

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Kermadec Spiny Dogfish Gallery