Angel shark un Sardina del Norte Angel shark and - TopicsExpress



          

Angel shark un Sardina del Norte Angel shark and sidemount. Squatina squatina, the angelshark or monkfish, is a species of shark in the family Squatinidae (known generally also as angel sharks), once widespread in the coastal waters of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Well-adapted for camouflaging itself on the sea floor, the angelshark has a flattened form with enlarged pectoral and pelvic fins, giving it a superficial resemblance to a ray. This species can be identified by its broad and stout body, conical barbels, thornless back (in larger individuals), and grayish or brownish dorsal coloration with a pattern of numerous small light and dark markings (that is more vivid in juveniles). It measures up to 2.4 m (7.9 ft) long. Like other members of its family, the angelshark is a nocturnal ambush predator that buries itself in sediment and waits for passing prey, mostly benthic bony fishes but also skates and invertebrates. An aplacental viviparous species, females bear litters of 7–25 pups every other year. The angelshark normally poses little danger to humans, though if provoked it is quick to bite. Caught for food since at least Ancient Greece, this shark was often sold on European markets under the name monkfish. Since the mid-20th century, intense commercial fishing across the angelsharks range have decimated its population via bycatch – it is now locally extinct or nearly so across most of its northern range, and the prospects of the remaining fragmented subpopulations are made more precarious by its slow rate of reproduction. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as Critically Endangered.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 09:23:17 +0000

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