Eusphyra blochii ( Cuvier, 1816 )

White, William T. & Ko’Ou, Alfred, 2018, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of Papua New Guinea, Zootaxa 4411 (1), pp. 1-82 : 42-43

Eusphyra blochii ( Cuvier, 1816)

Winghead Shark

Zygaena blochii Cuvier, 1816: 127 . Holotype: ZMB 7835 (stuffed). Type locality: unknown; Fowler, 1941 thought type was from India.

Local synonymy: Eusphyra blochii— Filewood, 1973: 2 (PNG); Kailola, 1987: 21 (Ramu River mouth; Broken Water Bay; eastern Papua; Port Moresby; Yule Island; Orokolo Bay); White et al., 2018: 184, figs (PNG).

PNG voucher material: (23 spec.) CSIRO H 7612-01, female 410 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°1’12” S, 145°42’2.4” E, 13–14 m depth, 21 Jun. 2014 ; CSIRO H 7614-06, female 420 mm TL, CSIRO H 7614- 0 7, female 420 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°3’1.2” S, 145°45’7.2” E, 16–17 m depth, 20 Jun. 2014 ; CSIRO H 7615-02, female 410 mm TL, CSIRO H 7615-03, juvenile male 410 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°2’55.2” S, 145°43’30” E, 17 m depth, 20 Jun. 2014 ; CSIRO H 8000-01, female embryo 320 mm TL, CSIRO H 8000-02, female embryo 330 mm TL, CSIRO H 8000-03, female embryo 350 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°3.65’ S, 145°42.18’ E, 19 m depth, 2 Sep. 2015 ; CSIRO H 8166-01 (dried jaws and chondrocranium), female 670 mm TL, southwest of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°4’ S, 145°38’ E, 14–15 m depth, 30 Nov. 2014 ; KFRS E.054A (dried jaws), KFRS E.054B (dried jaws), Ramu River mouth, Madang Province, 19 Jul. 1965 ; KFRS E.345A, female 293 mm TL, KFRS E.345B, juvenile male 290 mm TL, Kairuku, Yule Island , Nov. 1968 ; KFRS E.679, female 940 mm TL, Katatai, Daru , Western Province, 9°1’15.13” S, 143°20’30.59” E, 22 Oct. 2014 ; KFRS E.690, juvenile male 440 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°2’55.8” S, 145°44’57” E, 14–16 m depth, 19 Jun. 2014 ; KFRS E.703, juvenile male 400 mm TL, Freshwater Bay , Gulf of Papua, 8°6’39.6” S, 145°53’57” E, 15–19 m depth, 19 Jun. 2014 ; KFRS E.707, juvenile male 400 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°3’25.2” S, 145°43’3.6” E, 17–19 m depth, 19 Jun. 2014 ; KFRS E.709, juvenile male 410 mm TL, Freshwater Bay , Gulf of Papua, 8°5’24.6” S, 145°51’7.2” E, 13 m depth, 22 Jun. 2014 ; KFRS E.729, juvenile male 370 mm TL, Freshwater Bay , Gulf of Papua, 8°6’45.6” S, 145°50’49.8” E, 21–22 m depth, 13 Jun. 2014 ; KFRS E.742, male 650 mm TL, east of Fly River mouth, Gulf of Papua, 8°16’ S, 144°20’ E, 20–22 m depth, 6 Dec. 2014 ; KFRS E.795 (3 spec.), embryos 320–350 mm TL, south of Kerema , Gulf of Papua, 8°3.65’ S, 145°42.18’ E, 19 m depth, 2 Sep. 2015 .

Remarks: First recorded from PNG by Filewood (1973) who commented that it was found in inshore muddy waters. Very common bycatch in the Gulf of Papua prawn trawl fishery and in coastal fisheries, particularly in the Western and Gulf Provinces.