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Squatina squatina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Angelshark
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Squatina squatina   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Squatina squatina (Angelshark)
Squatina squatina
Picture by Hernández-González, C.L.

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Nomi Comuni | Sinonimi | Catalog of Fishes(Genere, Specie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchi (squali e razze) (sharks and rays) > Squatiniformes (Angel sharks) > Squatinidae (Angel sharks)
Etymology: Squatina: Latin for skate, which angel sharks superficially resemble, presumably tautonymous with Squalus squatina Linnaeus 1758 (no species mentioned). (See ETYFish);  squatina: Latin for skate, which angel sharks superficially resemble. (See ETYFish).
  More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecologia

marino; salmastro demersale; oceanodromo (Ref. 51243); distribuzione batimetrica 5 - 150 m (Ref. 247).   Temperate; 63°N - 21°N, 19°W - 42°E

Distribuzione Stati | Aree FAO | Ecosystems | Presenze | Point map | Introduzioni | Faunafri

Northeast Atlantic: southern Norway, Sweden and Shetland Islands to Morocco and West Sahara, including the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (Ref. 247). Range and abundance declining 1severely throughout its range; proposed legal protection in Britain (Ref.58085). The European Council Regulations 43/2009, 23/2010, 57/2011, 44/2012, 40/2013, 43/2014, 2015/104 and 2016/72 prohibit to fish for, to retain on board, to tranship and to land the S. squatina in all waters from the European Community (F. Osaer, pers.comm. 04/2016).

Length at first maturity / Size / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm 147.5, range 102 - 169 cm
Max length : 183 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 247); 244.0 cm TL (female); common length : 150 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. ); peso massimo pubblicato: 80.0 kg (Ref. 35388)

Short description Chiavi di identificazione | Morfologia | Morfometria

Spine dorsali (totale) : 0. Broad flattened body, with enlarged pectoral and pelvic fins, no anal fin. Eyes and large spiracles dorsally. Gill openings at the sides of the head. The mouth is terminal. Coloration variable, from grey to reddish or greenish-brown with scattered small white spots and blackish dots dorsally (Ref. 78469). No ocelli on body (Ref. 247).

Biologia     Glossario (es. epibenthic)

A benthic species that occurs inshore, on coasts and along the continental shelf; may enter estuaries (Ref. 247, 58085). Found mainly on sand or mud bottoms; sluggish by day, lying buried with eyes protruding. Also utilizes areas with macroalgae, kelp or rocks (Ref. 88920). Nocturnal species, swims off bottom at night. Feeds mainly on flatfishes and other benthic fishes, but also on skates, crustaceans and molluscs, with one record of swallowed cormorant (Ref. 247, 28070). Moves to deeper waters during winter, returning to the shallower depths in the spring (Ref. 88187), moving northwards in summer. Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449, 107715). Females generally grow larger than males (Ref. 58137, 107710, 107713, 107715). Detects weak electric fields generated by other organisms (e.g. potential prey) (Ref. 10311). The marine leech Stibarobdella macrothela is a common parasite (Ref. 107712) and the isopod Aegapheles deshaysiana a common micropredator (Ref. 107714) for this shark species in the Canary Islands. Utilized fresh and dried salted for human consumption, and possibly for oil and fishmeal (Ref. 247). Reaches 250 cm (Ref. 35388).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Riproduzione | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larve

Ovoviviparous, produce 7-25 pups/litter (Ref. 58085), 13.0 +/- 1.9 pups in the Canary Is (Ref. 107713) with litter number increasing with female size. Gestation period lasts for 8-10 months (born Dec-Feb in Mediterranean, July in England) (Ref. 58085), and +/- 6 months in the Canary Is (Ref. 107713). Size at birth ranges from 24-30 cm TL (Ref. 58085). Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). Full term embryos weighed 189-200 g; no egg capsules found around ova or embryos (Ref. 107715). A biannual reproductive cycle is likely the case for this species (Ref. 32746), triannual cycle in the Canary Is (Ref. 107713).

Main reference Upload your references | Bibliografia | Coordinatore : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaboratori

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/1):1-249. Rome, FAO. (Ref. 247)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Critically Endangered (CR) (A2bcd); Date assessed: 12 July 2017

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic




Human uses

Pesca: scarso interesse commerciale; Pesce da pesca sportiva: si
FAO(pesca: production, species profile; publication : search) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Informazioni ulteriori

Trophic ecology
Prede
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predatori
Ecology
Ecologia
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
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Abundances
Life cycle
Riproduzione
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
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Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larve
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Distribution
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Aree FAO
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Otoliths
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Visual pigment(s)
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Toxicities (LC50s)
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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 7.7 - 19.4, mean 11.4 (based on 854 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00832 (0.00428 - 0.01615), b=3.05 (2.88 - 3.22), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.5 se; based on diet studies.
Resilienza (Ref. 120179):  Basso, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione 4.5 - 14 anni (Fec=9-20).
Prior r = 0.27, 95% CL = 0.18 - 0.41, Based on 1 data-limited stock assessment.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.