Scyliorhinus retifer
Chain Dogfish
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)
Scyliorhinidae (Cat Sharks)
Scyliorhinus
Scyliorhinus retifer (Chain Dogfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Relatively slender, with a relatively short, wedge-shaped snout and a relatively narrow, low caudal fin. Pre-oral snout length is 5% to 6% of TL and slightly greater than eye length. Labial furrows are present in lower jaws only. Anterior nasal flap is not greatly expanded and fails to reach mouth. Origin of first dorsal fin is slightly posterior to pelvic fin base. Caudal fin lacks crest of enlarged dermal denticles.
Reddish brown dorsally and yellowish ventrally, with black and brown lines on body forming chain-like pattern. There are no light or dark spots.
Distribution
Western North Atlantic from Cape Cod to Florida and northern Gulf of Mexico
Northern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
On or near the bottom from 73 to 550 m
Biology
Crustaceans and small bony fishes
Maximum known size is 47 cm TL
Development is oviparous. Males mature at 37 to 41 cm TL, females mature at 35 to 47 cm TL, and young hatch from egg capsules at 10 cm TL
Found on the outer continental shelf and upper slope on rough, rocky bottom. Water temperature: 8.5-11.3°C. Food habits unknown. Oviparous. Not utilized at present. Found in waters 75-550 m deep (Ref. 26938). Lives at depths off 36-230m in the northern portion of its range, and in waters deeper than 460m in its southern range (Ref. 55294). Maximum depth reported taken from Ref. 55584.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2019-06-21. Resilience: Low (Fec assumed to be <100).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Bigelow and Schroeder 1948a
Springer 1966
Springer 1979
Springer and Sadowsky 1970
Castro 1983
Compagno 1984
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Compagno, L.J.V. (1984) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Cortés, E. (1999) Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 56:707-717.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 p.
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