Odontaspis ferox (Risso, 1810)

Hsu, Hua Hsun, Joung, Shoou Jeng, Ebert, David A. & Lin, Chia Yen, 2013, Records of new and rare elasmobranchs from Taiwan, Zootaxa 3752 (1), pp. 249-255 : 250-251

Odontaspis ferox (Risso, 1810)

Smalltooth sandtiger ( Figure 2 )

Squalus ferox Risso, 1810 (Ichthyol. Nice, Paris: 38; type locality: off Nice, France, in the Mediterranean Sea).

Material examined. (2 specimens). EBFS020203010201-1,> 300 cm TL, mature female, Da-xi, April 2004; this individual was bought by a fish buyer after landing but the jaws were kept for research. EBFS020203010201- 2, 100.9 cm TL, neonatal female, abdomen scar present, Da-xi, June 2004.

Diagnosis. Body fusiform, moderately stout; medium grey in young, darker grey-brown in adult, lighter below, with darker dusky spots on sides of some individuals; fins dusky with blackish edges in young but uniform dusky in adults, first dorsal fin without a white blotch; caudal peduncle without keels. Pectoral fins angular. First dorsal apex subangular in adults. Anal fin height 4.6 to 6.0% of total length. Anal fin with strongly concave posterior margin. Caudal fin with ventral caudal lobe short but stout. Teeth similar in both jaws; two to five (mostly four) rows of small intermediate teeth between upper anterior and lateral tooth rows; a pair of upper and a pair of lower symphysial teeth present; tooth rows numerous, 48 to 56/36 to 46 (88 to 102 total); root lobes of anterolateral teeth deeply arched and narrow; anterolateral teeth usually with 2 or 3 pairs of lateral cusplets.

Distribution. Circumglobal, but patchily distributed. Western Pacific records in addition to the new record for Taiwan includes southern Japan, New South Wales Australia, and New Zealand.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Specimen of smalltooth sandtiger Odontaspis ferox, female, 100.9 cm TL, EBFS 020203010201 - 2, Da-xi, June 2004.