Birdbeak dogfish

11/21/2018

OceanLab, University of Aberdeen.

The birdbeak dogfish (Deania calcea) is a dogfish in the Centrophoridae family, observed in the Pacific Ocean around Japan, southern Australia, New Zealand, and the other side of the Pacific along Chile; they are also found in the Atlantic Ocean from Iceland south to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

Any guesses for why this animal has the common name it has? Perhaps it has something to do with their long, narrow snout... similar to a bird. They lack an anal fin, but have two long dorsal fins with grooved spines. Their pectoral fins and small and rectangular, and their bodies are covered in pitchfork-like denticles. The birdbeak dogfish are observed at depths between 73 and 1,450 metres. They are viviparous with placenta, and have up to 12 pups per litter. Birdbeak dogfish don't eat grubs like birds- they eat bony fish and shrimp. The IUCN has assessed them as x.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS ANIMAL?

GLOSSARY

IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Pup: Give birth to baby sharks, skates, rays or chimaeras (pups).
Pups: Baby sharks, skates, rays, or chimaeras.
Viviparous with yolk-sac: Also known as aplacental viviparous and previously known as ovoviviparous/ovoviviparity; it is the production of eggs that are fertilised and hatch inside the female shark but the embryos lack a placental connection to the oviduct or uterus and so do not feed off the mother.