Greeneye spurdog

11/26/2018

A Greeneye Spurdog, Squalus chloroculus. Source: CSIRO National Fish Collection.

Greeneye Spurdog (Squalus chloroculus) goes by a variety of name. What is it with spurdogs having SO MANY NAMES? Alright, alright, we’ll list them: Blainvilles Dogfish, Blainville's Dogfish, Green-eye Dogfish, Grey Spiny Dogfish, Northern Dogfish, Northern Spiny Dogfish, Shortspine Spurdog, Shortspine Spurdog, Spikey Dogfish, aaaaaaaaand last but not least Spiny Dogfish. There may be other names we’re missing but to be honest are you going to remember all of these? Probs not. And that’s okay! Just remember the super duper important one: the scientific name.

The greeneye spurdog is a medium sized dogfish that we actually know very little about. For example, we know males of this species mature at about 68 cm total length (TL). The females? *shrugs*

They look similar to another dogfish, Squalus montalbani, and both species were previously incorrectly identified as Squalus mitsukurii. Like other dogfish, they are grey on the top and have a pale tummy. The greeneye spurdog has big eyes, a short snout, and tiny gill slits. Their fins are a lighter colour than their body and both dorsal fins have dorsal spines in front.

This is a viviparous (aplacental) species that is endemic to southern Australia from New South Wales to Western Australia. The IUCN has assessed them as Near Threatened (NT).

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS ANIMAL?

GLOSSARY

Dorsal fin: Fin located on the back.
Dorsal side: The top of an animal.
Endemic: Native to a specific region or environment and not occurring naturally anywhere else.
IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature.
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.