Frog shark

Frog shark
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Squaliformes
Family: Somniosidae
Genus: Somniosus
Species: S. longus
Binomial name
Somniosus longus
S. Tanaka (I), 1912
Synonyms

Heteroscymnus longus Tanaka, 1912

The frog shark (Somniosus longus) is a very rare species of shark mainly found in deeper water. It is in the sleeper shark family with the Greenland shark.

Description

The frog shark is known to grow to at least 143 cm in length.[1]

Range

Fewer than a dozen specimens of this deepwater shark have been collected, mostly from the Pacific Ocean. The frog shark has been recorded off the coasts of Japan, New Zealand, and possibly Salas y Gómez, as well as the Nazca Ridge, from as shallow as 120–150 m and as deep as 1,116 m.[1]

Threats

The frog shark is occasionally caught by trawl, longline, and crab-pot fisheries. As of 2015, no current conservation efforts are in place.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Francis, M. & Tanaka, S. (2009). "Somniosus longus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 15 February 2012.


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