The Portuguese rabbitfish, Hydrolagus lusitanicus, is also known as the Coelho. Described in 2009 from the continental slope of Portugal, this species is infrequent bycatch of the Portuguese longline fishery for Black Scabbard Fish (Aphanopus carbo). Yes, many fisheries get large quantities of bycatch of deepwater sharks! Only known from 22 specimens, the females collected ranged from 98.6 to 117.7 cm pre-supra caudal fin length (PSCFL) and males ranged from 81.5 to 95.4 cm PSCFL. They are an egg-laying species like other chimaeras. Their range seems to be 1,600 metres to 2,410 metres deep (another one of those chill-loving chimaeras) and that Black Scabbard fishery generally operates at depths of 800-1,200 m and is thought to only sometimes be within this species’ range. From what we know, it seems the population may be severely fragmented although it is already tough to study the deep sea so we don’t know for sure. The Portuguese rabbitfish, Hydrolagus lusitanicus, is also known as the Coelho. Described in 2009 from the continental slope of Portugal, this species is infrequent bycatch of the Portuguese longline fishery for Black Scabbard Fish (Aphanopus carbo). Yes, many fisheries get large quantities of bycatch of deepwater sharks! Their range seems to be 1,600 metres to 2,410 metres deep (another one of those chill-loving chimaeras) and that Black Scabbard fishery generally operates at depths of 800-1,200 m and is thought to only sometimes be within this species’ range. From what we know, it seems the population may be severely fragmented although it is already tough to study the deep sea so we don’t know for sure. Due to knowing what little we do know about their range/habitat, it can be assumed that these fisheries as they currently operate do not pose a significant threat to this species, so it is assessed to be Least Concern (LC) in the European region by the IUCN. WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS ANIMAL?GLOSSARY
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:Comments are closed.
|
AuthorTFUI Founder Melissa C. Marquez is author of all animal bios and "Behind the Fins" segments. SEE MELISSA'S TEDx TALK HERE:
Archives
August 2020
SEARCH BY CATEGORIESREADER FAVORITESFOLLOW ALONG ON INSTAGRAM |