The Caribbean roughshark (''Oxynotus caribbaeus'') is a rough shark of the

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 ...

Oxynotidae, found on the upper

continental slope A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margi ...

s of the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, at depths between . It reaches a length around . ''Oxynotus caribbaeus'' is thought to be a slow-moving predator of small benthic organisms. Not much is known about the lifecycle of this species, but it is being observed in its natural environment lately. This species is an uncommon

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

of bottom trawls.

Taxonomy

Venezuelan biologist Dr. Fernando Cervigón described this species as ''Oxynotus caribbaeus''.Cervigón, M. F. 1961. Una nueva especie de Oxynotus de las costas de Venezuela. Estación de Investigaciones Marinas de Margarita, Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, Contribución 3:1–10

Description

''Oxynotus caribbaeus'' is a small shark found in the upper continental slope of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

; it is easily distinguishable from other ''Oxynotus'' species. Adult males reach a maximum size of in length and the females are thought to grow even longer, although none has been examined. The Caribbean roughshark has a short, blunt snout and head. This chubby-looking shark looks nothing like the typical shark. It has two dorsal fins that help differentiate this shark from other ''Oxynotus'' species. Its first

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

is inclined forward, is very long and thick, and triangular in shape. The second

is similar to the first, although it is not as long. However, as some other ''Oxynotus'' species, the Caribbean roughshark does not have an

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

. It has the typical shark coarse

dermal denticle A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scale (zoology), scales, which can also provide effective Underwater camouflage, camouflage through the us ...

s, but these are atypically large for the size of the shark. It contains small, circular spiracles at the dorsal base of its head. The supraorbital ridges are not expanded and do not form a knob in front of the spiracles. It has

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

upper teeth, containing 12 rows and lower bladelike teeth containing 12 rows. It has distinct color features that make it easily identifiable. On the head, body, and tail, it has light, greyish skin, patterned with dark bands and blotches, although it contains noticeably lighter color patterns on its

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s and

pelvic fins Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

.Rogers, Mike. "Best Shark eBook Ever!." Caribbean Roughshark. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 November 2013. .

Geographical habitat and ecology

''Oxynotus caribbeaus'' is found in the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, also near the bottom of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

and the

.Hammock, Jennifer. "Oxynotus caribbaeus Cervigón, 1961 — Details." Encyclopedia of Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 November 2013. . However, sightings of the Caribbean roughshark have happened in the waters off of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

, and

. It occupies water at a range of . At that range, the water temperature is at about 10 °C. This means it has a bathydemersal habitat or is a

demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They oc ...

Diet

Little is known about this shark, but due to its unusual

dentition Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiology ...

, the spear-shaped upper teeth and blade-like lower teeth, it feeds on

invertebrates Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordate subphylum ...

and fishes found near the bottom of their habitat.

Breeding

This species of shark is an

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparity, oviparous and live-bearing viviparity, viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develo ...

species, meaning the embryos develop inside eggs, which are retained inside the mother's body until the eggs are ready to hatch. The sizes of these shark pups are thought to be 20 to 21 cm long, for both male and females examined.

Threats and conservation

This species of shark lives in depths where deepwater fisheries operate, which can have a negative impact on a population of shark that is already uncommon and virtually unknown. Deepwater fisheries usually find ''O. caribbaeus'' as

. As uncommon as it is found as a bycatch, it can still have a negative impact due to the small population observed in the inshore waters. This shark has little to no commercial uses. Though when caught, the most probably use of ''O. caribbaeus'' is fishmeal or bait. Sometimes, it can be processed for oil or human consumption, by smoking and salting.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q139510 Caribbean roughshark Fish of the Caribbean Fish of the Gulf of Mexico Caribbean roughshark Caribbean roughshark