The birdbeak dogfish shark is a dogfish that lives in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Birdbeak Dogfish Shark Scientific Classification |
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| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Chondrichthyes |
| Order | Squaliformes |
| Family | Centrophoridae |
| Genus | Deania |
| Scientific Name | D. calcea |
Description
This shark has a long, narrow snout, with two dorsal fins with spines lower down the body and two small rectangular pectoral fins. They have dermal denticles all over their bodies.
Where do they live
Map Of The Birdbeak Dogfish Shark’s Habitat
These sharks live in Chile, Japan, New Zealand, and southern Australia in the Pacific and from Iceland south to the Cape of Good Hope in the Atlantic Ocean. The depth range of these sharks is from 239 ft to 4757 ft.
Behavior
Feeding
They feed on bony fish and shrimp.
Reproductive
Birdbeak dogfish give live birth to a litter of about 12 pups. At birth, they are 11-13 inches long.
Sexual maturity is observed in males when they are about 31.5 inches long and in females at about 35.4 inches in length. The average age when they become sexually mature is around 25 years, and a maximum lifespan of 35 years, giving them a very brief period to breed.
Interactions with humans
This shark’s primary resource is the oil provided by its liver, with the rest of its body being turned into fishmeal. These activities put the shark at risk due to its low reproductive period, and its numbers are dropping. However, its population isn’t quite threatened yet, with the IUCN listing this shark as “Near Threatened” or “NT”.
