The Centrophoridae are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

squaliform The Squaliformes are an order (biology), order of sharks that includes about 126 species in seven families. Members of the order have two dorsal fins, which usually possess spines, they usually have a sharp head, no anal fin or nictitating me ...

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

s. The family contains just two

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and about 15

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. They are sometimes called gulper sharks, but this is also the name of a specific species in the family, '' Centrophorus granulosus''. These are generally deepwater fish. While some, such as the gulper shark ''C. granulosus'', are found worldwide and fished commercially, others are uncommon and little-known. Their usual prey is other fish; some are known to feed on

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

, and

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

. Some species live on the bottom (

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

), while others are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the sur ...

. They are ovoviviparous, with the female retaining the egg-cases in her body until they hatch. They are small to medium sharks, ranging from in adult body length. The members of the genus ''

Deania ''Deania'' is a genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classifi ...

'' generally have a long flattened snout. Gulper shark (''Centrophorus granulosus'') Dumb gulper shark (''Centrophorus harrissoni'') Leafscale gulper shark (''Centrophorus squamosus'') Birdbeak dogfish (''Deania calcea'')

Species

The 18 known species are grouped into two genera: * '' Centrophorus'' J. P. Müller & Henle, 1837 ** '' Centrophorus atromarginatus'' Garman, 1913 (dwarf gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus granulosus'' ( Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801). (gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus harrissoni'' McCulloch, 1915 (dumb gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus isodon'' ( Y. T. Chu, Q. W. Meng & J. X. Liu, 1981) (blackfin gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus lusitanicus'' Barbosa du Bocage & Brito Capello, 1864 (lowfin gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus moluccensis'' Bleeker, 1860 (smallfin gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus seychellorum'' Baranes, 2003 (Seychelles gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus squamosus'' ( Bonnaterre, 1788) (leafscale gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus tessellatus'' Garman, 1906 (mosaic gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus uyato'' Rafinesque, 1810 (Little gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus westraliensis'' W. T. White, Ebert & Compagno, 2008 (western gulper shark) ** '' Centrophorus zeehaani'' W. T. White, Ebert & Compagno, 2008 (southern dogfish) ** ''Centrophorus'' sp. A (minigulper) ** ''Centrophorus'' sp. B (slender gulper) * ''

'' D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1902 ** '' Deania calcea'' ( R. T. Lowe, 1839) (birdbeak dogfish) ** '' Deania hystricosa'' (Garman, 1906) (rough longnose dogfish) ** '' Deania profundorum'' ( H. M. Smith & Radcliffe, 1912) (arrowhead dogfish) ** '' Deania quadrispinosa'' (McCulloch, 1915) (longsnout dogfish)

References

External links

FishBase entry for Centrophoridae
{{Authority control Shark families Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker