Frog shark
| Frog shark | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Subdivision: | Selachimorpha |
| 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 deep 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] In June 2018 the New Zealand Department of Conservation classified the frog shark as "Data Deficient" with the qualifier "Uncertain whether Secure Overseas" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Francis, M.; Tanaka, S. (2009). "Somniosus longus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T161552A5449863. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T161552A5449863.en.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|last-author-amp=ignored (|name-list-style=suggested) (help) - ^ Duffy, Clinton A. J.; Francis, Malcolm; Dunn, M. R.; Finucci, Brit; Ford, Richard; Hitchmough, Rod; Rolfe, Jeremy (2018). Conservation status of New Zealand chondrichthyans (chimaeras, sharks and rays), 2016 (PDF). Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation. p. 11. ISBN 9781988514628. OCLC 1042901090.
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