#angelshark

[foxounderscorecube]

What I imagine when I see the Latin name of the common angelshark

[herpsandbirds]

Give me your favorite shark i like sharks

Favorite shark: Oh that's easy... carpet and angelsharks!

Pacific Angelshark (Squatina californica), family Squatinidae, order Squatiniformes, off the coast of CA, USA

photograph by Andy Murch

[fishstims]

jmalcuadradoo on instagram

[animal-families-tournaments]

Selachii infraclass, round 1: Angelshark vs Atlantic Angelshark

Angelshark

Atlantic Angelshark

Voting ended onMay 3

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Have you seen the African angelshark (Squatina africana)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onAug 30, 2025

Hard to get photos of living individuals where they aren't buried in sand/silt/etc, enjoy photos of these fellows lying in wait for their prey to approach.

[ketrinadrawsalot]

Sharktember with @requinoesis's Sharktober prompts! Angel - The angelshark is flat like a ray, but unlike rays it also has enlarged pelvic fins and cone-shaped barbels on its face. It spends the day hidden under the sand and emerges at night to search for bottom-dwelling fish, crabs, and cephalopods.

[todropscience]

OCEAN WARMING DISRUPTS ANGELSHARK MATING IN THE CANARY ISLANDS

Angelsharks (Squatina squatina), listed as Critically Endangered are showing adverse behaviour related to climate change. Females are avoiding traditional mating grounds during periods of unusually high ocean temperatures, prioritising cooler waters instead. This female absence, documented in La Graciosa Marine Reserve during the 2022 breeding season, contrasts with the continued presence of males, suggesting an increasing mismatch in the species’ reproductive patterns.

The study, led by Lancaster University and the Angel Shark Project: Canary Islands, found that temperatures above 22.5 °C throughout much of autumn and winter may exceed the thermal tolerance of females. Using acoustic telemetry, researchers tracked more than 100 individuals between 2018 and 2023, revealing a clear link between female presence and sea temperature.

These findings highlight the angelshark’s vulnerability to extreme events linked to climate change, particularly in regions like the Canaries, which already represent the species’ thermal distribution limit. The authors stress the urgent need to protect key habitats and maintain long-term monitoring to mitigate the impacts of ocean warming on threatened marine species.

Reference: Mead et al. 2025. Rapid Ocean Warming Drives Sexually Divergent Habitat Use in a Threatened Predatory Marine Ectotherm.” Global Change Biology

Photograph: Dennis Rabeling

[every-day-creechur]

Japanese Angelshark Squatina formosa

Found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean off China, Japan, and Korea. It is a bottom-dwelling shark found in sandy habitats down to 300 m (980 ft) deep, a nocturnal ambush predator that spends most of the day lying still on the sea floor. It is endangered by commercial trawl fisheries.

img source