The southern Mandarin dogfish (''Cirrhigaleus australis'') is a species of Mandarin
dogfish shark
Squalidae, more commonly known as dogfish, dog sharks, or spiny dogfish, are one of several families of sharks categorized under Squaliformes, making it the second largest order of sharks, numbering 119 species across 7 families. Having earned t ...
in the genus ''
Cirrhigaleus''. It was distinguished from ''
Cirrhigaleus barbifer'', which lives in the North Pacific, on an expedition in the
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
C ...
s near
Australia in 2007. It is now known to live in the temperate waters in south-eastern Australia and from the Bay of Plenty region in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
, at depths of 146–640 metres.
[New Mandarin shark Discovered]
". Practical Fishkeeping. Retrieved on 1008-10-17.
Physical characteristics
It is medium-sized and robust compared to other dogfish. It is grey-brown above and pale below. The posterior margins of the
pectoral and
pelvic fin
Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods.
Structure and function Structure
In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two e ...
s are white. This species of shark normally grow less than a metre long, but have been known to reach 1.25 metres.
[ C. australis has smaller eyes, ]pectoral fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...
s, dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...
s, and spine than its cousin. The first dorsal fin is medium-sized and slightly raked. The second is similarly shaped, but a bit smaller. The pectoral fins are fairly large. Both dorsal spines are long. It also has strangely long barbels
In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whiskerlike sensory organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the zebrafish, the black dragonfish and s ...
, giving it the name "Mandarin". There are about 115 centra along the back.[Cirrhigaleus australis Southern Mandarin Dogfish]
. FishBase. Retrieved on 2008-10-14.
Scientists say the shark is harmless. Its defensive techniques are useless against many larger fish, and, as a consequence, it is very vulnerable to other sharks and fish. Also, the southern Mandarin dogfish has very low resilience, its population doubling only about every 14 years.[
]
Expedition
In 2007, a group of scientists from CSIRO
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research.
CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...
spent some time searching the Eastern coast of Australia for new species.skate
Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish
*Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae
* Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae
* Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...
s, sea star
Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...
s, coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secre ...
s, bivalves
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, biv ...
, brachiopod
Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, ...
s, several types of marine arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
s, and many others.
They conducted research in three outings, each three weeks long. Two outings were in the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
on Lizard Island
Lizard Island is an island on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland (Australia), northwest of Brisbane and part of the Lizard Island Group that also includes Palfrey Island. It is part of the Lizard Island National Park. Lizard Island is within t ...
and Heron Island, and the third was in the Ningaloo Reef
The Ningaloo Coast is a World Heritage Site located in the north west coastal region of Western Australia. The heritage-listed area is located approximately north of Perth, along the East Indian Ocean. The distinctive Ningaloo Reef that fring ...
on the northwest coast of Australia.
Conservation status
In June 2018 the New Zealand Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...
classified the southern Mandarin dogfish as "At Risk – Naturally Uncommon" with the qualifiers "Data Poor" and "Threatened Overseas" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System
The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand.
The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...
.
References
External links
Pictures and Info on Cirrhigaleus australis
Dogfish Sharks, 'Squalidae' Info
Classification and Characteristics of 'Squalidae'
CSIRO Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southern Mandarin dogfish
Cirrhigaleus
Fish of Australia
Taxa named by William Toby White
Taxa named by Peter R. Last
Taxa named by John D. Stevens
Fish described in 2007