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Heterodontus mexicanus Taylor & Castro-Aguirre, 1972

Mexican hornshark
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Heterodontus mexicanus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Heterodontus mexicanus (Mexican hornshark)
Heterodontus mexicanus
Picture by Muséum-Aquarium de Nancy/D. Terver

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Heterodontiformes (Bullhead and horn sharks) > Heterodontidae (Bullhead, horn, or Port Jackson sharks)
Etymology: Heterodontus: heteros (Gr.), different; odontos (Gr.), tooth, referring to pointy teeth (for clutching prey) at front of jaws, different than rounded molar-like teeth (for grinding hard-shelled invertebrates) at the back. (See ETYFish);  mexicanus: -anus (L.), belonging to: Mexico, referring to its distribution in the Gulf of California along the Mexican coast to at least Oaxaca (and perhaps to Peru). (See ETYFish).

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

Marine; demersal; depth range 0 - 50 m (Ref. 54547). Tropical; 31°N - 18°S, 115°W - 80°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Pacific: Mexico and from Costa Rica to Colombia, probably Ecuador and Peru (Ref. 43278)

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 170 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 96339)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on littoral continental waters, on rocky and sandy areas from close inshore down to at least 20 m depth. Reported to reach 165 cm (Ref. 37955). Feeds on crabs and demersal fishes including midshipman (Porichthtys) (Ref. 43278). Oviparous (Ref. 37955). Utilized as fishmeal.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Oviparous (Ref. 50449). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

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)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 07 February 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic





Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries
FAO - Fisheries: species profile; Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
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Distribution
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Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
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Toxicities (LC50s)
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 20.6 - 26.9, mean 23.2 °C (based on 30 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5059   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00380 (0.00166 - 0.00872), b=3.15 (2.95 - 3.35), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.2   ±0.73 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.