SHARK UPDATE: TWO NEW SHARK SPECIES FOR SCIENCE
In the last week two shark species are described, from the Agulhas Bank in South Africa, the Long-snouted African spurdog (Squalus bassi) is described based on material collected from the outer shelf and upper continental slope off South Africa and Mozambique. This new species has been misidentified as the Japanese Shortspine spurdog and the Mediterranean Longnose Spurdog due to the lack of comparative morphological analyses, but can be distinguished from all its congeners by a combination of body and fin colouration.
- Squalus bassi in lateral and ventral views.
And from Papua New Guinea based on two specimens collected during recent deepwater surveys researchers found a new species belongs to the longicephalus-group which is characterised by its very long snout. The Yang’s Longnose Catshark (Apristurus yangi)
- Body and head of Apristurus yangi, adult female in lateral view and ventral view.
Viana et al. 2017. Squalus bassi sp. nov., a new long-snouted spurdog (Chondrichthyes: Squaliformes: Squalidae) from the Agulhas Bank. Journal of Fish Biology.
White et al., 2017 Description of a new species of deepwater catshark Apristurus yangi n.sp (Carcharhiniformes: Pentanchidae) from Papua New Guinea. Zootaxa.