Squatina dumeril
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Squatiniformes (Angel Sharks)
Squatinidae (Angel Sharks)
Squatina
Squatina dumeril (Atlantic Angel Shark)
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
Greatly depressed body, flat blunt snout, moderately developed tail with well-developed dorsal and ventral lobes, simple anterior nasal barbel with narrow tapering tip, conical teeth with broad bases and smooth crowns, 20 tooth rows in upper jaw and 18 in lower jaw, simple dermal folds on sides of head, distance between eye and spiracle about one and one-half times eye diameter, free tip of pectoral fin acutely angled, moderate-sized thorns along midline of back and tail to origin of first dorsal fin and between dorsal fins, denticles on sides of body with hooked, three-ridged crowns
Light gray to reddish brown dorsally, often with dark blotches, and white ventrally
Distribution
Western North Atlantic from southern New England to Florida, and the northern Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Mexico
Habitat Associations
Near shore to 1,290 m depth
Biology
Mollusks, crustaceans, skates, and bony fishes
Maximum known size is about 152 cm TL
Litters consist of up to 16 young, born in summer over shallow depths (18 to 26 m), young range from 28 to 30 cm TL at birth, males and females mature at about 92 to 107 cm TL
Occurs on the outer continental shelf and the upper slope. Found from shoreline to depths of 1,375 m (Ref. 26938). Benthic burrower; feeds on small bottom fishes, crustaceans and mollusks (Ref. 27549). Ovoviviparous. Will bite when captured and can inflict nasty lacerations with its trap-like jaws and pointed teeth.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2017-06-23. 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: minor commercial.
References
Bigelow and Schroeder 1948a
Hoese 1962
Hoese and Moore 1977
Applegate et al. 1979
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 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/1):1-249. 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.
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.
Vaz, D.F.B. and M.R. De Carvalho (2013) Morphological and taxonomic revision of species of Squatina from the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (Chondrichthyes: Squatiniformes: Squatinidae). Zootaxa 3695(1):001-081.
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