Hooktooth Dogfish | |
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Information | |
Range | Eastern South Pacific along the Coast of South America from Peru to Central Chile. |
Scientific Classification | |
Kingdom | Animalia |
Phylum | Chordata |
Class | Chondrichthyes |
Order | Squaliformes |
Family | Etmopteridae |
Genus | Aculeola |
Species | A. nigra |
Conservation Status | |
Data Deficient |
The Hooktooth dogfish, (Aculeola nigra), is a small, little-known dogfish, the only member of the genus Aculeola. The type specimen is held at the National Natural History Museum, Santiago, Chile.
Physical Characteristics[]
The hooktooth dogfish has a blunt, flattened snout, very large eyes, a relatively long distance from the eye to the first gill slit, small grooved dorsal spines, a first dorsal fin about halfway between the pectoral and pelvic fins, and a broad caudal fin. They are black with a maximum length of only 60 cm.
Distribution[]
They are found in the eastern South Pacific along the coast of South America from Peru to central Chile.
Habits and Habitat[]
This shark is a little-known, yet common, shark that lives at depths between 110 and 560 m. They are ovoviviparous, with at least three pups per litter. They probably eat bony fish and invertebrates.