#blackmouth catshark

[shark-a-day]

Todays shark is...

The Blackmouth Catshark!

Fun Fact: It’s found from Iceland to Senegal, including the Mediterranean Sea, usually at depths of about 150 to 500 m, although they’ve also been found in waters as deep as 2,000 m!

[respect-the-locals]

🦈 Daily Shark Fact: 🦈

Black-mouthed Dogfish (aka the Blackmouth Catshark) is a deep sea sharks and the largest member of the Catshark family. As the name suggests, the interior of its mouth is black, which is a unique feature to other sharks.

Blackmouth catsharks take advantage of the ground effect to save energy. Ground effect is a reduction in the drag force experienced by a wing when it moves close to the ground. This helps the shark cruise above the sea floor without exerting extra force.

[unofficial-sean]

Blackmouth Catshark (Galeus melastomus)

[sharks-daily]

Blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus)

Size: 60-80cm (23-31in)

Range & Habitat: Blackmouth catsharks can be found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea. They live in deep water by the bottom, usually 650-3,300 feet down

Other: The blackmouth catshark is recognizable by its unique shape, fins, and spotted coloration. While they are typically found in deep water, in colder waters they tend to be found shallower.

[sirus-themonster]

Here’s some shark breads tha no one asked for but I’m doing anyway!:

African angelshark

African dwarf sawshark

African lanternshark

African ribbontail catshark

African sawtail catshark

American pocket shark

Angelshark

Angular angelshark

Angular roughshark

Antilles catshark

Arabian carpetshark

Arabian catshark

Arabian smooth-hound

Argentine angelshark

Arrowhead dogfish

Atlantic angel shark

Atlantic sawtail catshark

Atlantic sixgill shark

Atlantic sharpnose shark

Atlantic weasel shark

Australian angelshark

Australian blackspotted catshark

Australian blacktip shark

Australian grey smooth-hound

Australian marbled catshark

Australian reticulate swellshark

Australian sawtail catshark

Australian sharpnose shark

Australian spotted catshark

Australian swellshark

Australian weasel shark

Azores dogfish

Bahamas sawshark

Bali catshark

Balloon shark

Banded houndshark

Banded sand catshark

Banded wobbegong

Bartail spurdog

Barbelthroat carpetshark

Barbeled houndshark

Bareskin dogfish

Basking shark

Beige catshark

Bigeye houndshark

Bigeye sand tiger

Bigeye thresher shark

Bighead catshark

Bighead spurdog

Bignose shark

Bigeyed sixgill shark

Birdbeak dogfish

Blackbelly lanternshark

Black dogfish

Blackfin gulper shark

Blackgill catshark

Blackmouth catshark

Blackmouth lanternshark

Blacknose shark

Black roughscale catshark

Blackspot shark

Blackspotted catshark

Blackspotted smooth-hound

Blacktail reef shark

Blacktailed spurdog

Blacktip reef shark

Blacktip sawtail catshark

Blacktip shark

Blacktip tope

Black wonder catshark

Blind shark

Blotched catshark, two different species

Blotchy swellshark

Blue-eye lanternshark

Bluegrey carpetshark

Blue shark

Bluntnose sixgill shark

Blunt-nose spiny dogfish

Blurred lanternshark

Boa catshark

Bonnethead shark

Borneo broadfin shark

Borneo shark

Bramble shark

Brazilian sharpnose shark

Bristled lanternshark

Bristly catshark

Broadbanded lanternshark

Broadfin sawtail catshark

Broadfin shark

Broadgill catshark

Broadhead catshark

Broadmouth catshark

Broadnose catshark

Broadnose sevengill shark

Broad-snout lanternshark

Brownbanded bamboo shark

Brown catshark

Brown lanternshark

Brown shyshark

Brown smoothhound

Brownspotted catshark

Bull shark

Burmese bamboo shark

Campeche catshark

Caribbean lanternshark

Caribbean reef shark

Caribbean roughshark

Caribbean sharpnose shark

Caribbean smooth-hound

Carolina hammerhead

Cenderawasih epaulette shark

Chain catshark

Chilean angelshark

Chilean lanternshark

Clouded angelshark

Cloudy catshark

Coates' shark

Cobbler wobbegong

Collared carpetshark

Combtooth dogfish

Combtooth lanternshark

Common smooth-hound

Comoro catshark

Cook's swellshark

Cookiecutter shark

Copper shark

Coral catshark

Creek whaler

Crested bullhead shark

Crocodile shark

Crying catshark

Cuban dogfish

Cuban ribbontail catshark

Cylindrical lanternshark

Cyrano spurdog

Daggernose shark

Dark freckled catshark

Dark shyshark

Deepwater catshark

Deepwater sicklefin houndshark

Dense-scale lantern shark

Disparate angelshark

Draughtsboard shark

Dumb gulper shark

Dusky catshark

Dusky shark

Dusky smooth-hound

Dusky snout catshark

Dwarf catshark

Dwarf false catshark

Dwarf gulper shark

Dwarf lanternshark

Dwarf sawtail catshark

Dwarf smooth-hound

Dwarf spotted wobbegong

Eastern angelshark

Eastern banded catshark

Eastern highfin spurdog

Eastern longnose spurdog

Eastern spotted gummy shark

Edmund's spurdog

Elongate carpetshark

Epaulette shark

False catshark

False lanternshark

False smalltail shark

Fat catshark

Fatspine spurdog

Fedorov's catshark

Filetail catshark

Finetooth shark

Flaccid catshark

Flagtail swellshark

Flapnose houndshark

Flathead catshark

Floral banded wobbegong

Formosa swellshark

Freckled catshark

Frilled shark

Fringefin lanternshark

Frog shark

Galapagos bullhead shark

Galapagos shark

Galbraith's catshark

Ganges shark

Garrick's catshark

Gecko catshark

Genie's dogfish

Ghost catshark

Ginger carpetshark

Goblin shark

Graceful catshark

Graceful shark

Granular dogfish

Great hammerhead

Great lanternshark

Great white shark

Green-eye spurdog

Green lanternshark

Greenland shark

Grey bamboo shark

Grey sharpnose shark

Grey smooth-hound

Grinning catshark

Guadalupe lanternshark

Gulf catshark

Gulf of Mexico filetail catshark

Gulf smooth-hound

Gulper shark

Gummy shark

Halmahera epaulette shark

Hardnose shark

Harlequin catshark

Hasselt's bamboo shark

Hawaiian lanternshark

Hidden angelshark

Highfin dogfish

Hoary catshark

Honeycomb Izak

Hooded carpetshark

Hooktooth dogfish

Hooktooth shark

Horn shark

Human's whaler shark

Humpback catshark

Humpback smooth-hound

Iceland catshark

Indian swellshark

Indonesian angelshark

Indonesian filetail catshark

Indonesian greeneye spurdog

Indonesian houndshark

Indonesian shortsnout spurdog

Indonesian speckled carpetshark

Indonesian speckled catshark

Indonesian whaler shark

Indonesian wobbegong

Izak catshark

Izu catshark

Jaguar catshark

Japanese angelshark

Japanese bullhead shark

Japanese catshark

Japanese roughshark

Japanese sawshark

Japanese shortnose spurdog

Japanese spurdog

Japanese topeshark

Japanese velvet dogfish

Japanese wobbegong

Kermadec smooth hound

Kermadec spiny dogfish

Kitefin shark

Knifetooth dogfish

Lana's sawshark

Largenose catshark

Largespine velvet dogfish

Largetooth cookiecutter shark

Leafscale gulper shark

Lemon shark

Leopard catshark

Leopard epaulette shark

Leopard shark

Lined catshark

Lined lanternshark

Lined lanternshark

Little gulper shark

Little sleeper shark

Lizard catshark

Lollipop catshark

Lombok highfin spurdog

Longfin catshark

Longfin mako

Longfin sawtail catshark

Longhead catshark

Longnose catshark

Longnose houndshark

Longnose pygmy shark

Longnose sawshark

Longnose sawtail catshark

Longnose spurdog

Longnose velvet dogfish

Longsnout dogfish

Longnose sleeper shark

Lowfin gulper shark

Magnificent catshark

Mandarin dogfish

Mangalore houndshark

McMillan's catshark

Megamouth shark

Mexican angelshark

Mexican hornshark

Milk-eye catshark

Milk shark

Mini gulper shark

Moller's lanternshark

Mosaic gulper shark

Mouse catshark

Mud catshark

Mukah river shark

Narrowbar swellshark

Narrowfin smooth-hound

Narrowhead catshark

Narrowmouthed catshark

Narrownose smooth-hound

Narrowtail catshark

Natal shyshark

Necklace carpetshark

Nervous shark

Network wobbegong

New Caledonia catshark

New Zealand catshark

New Zealand lanternshark

Night shark

Ninja lanternshark

Northern river shark

Northern sawtail catshark

Northern spiny dogfish

Northern wobbegong

Nurse shark

Nursehound

Nurseblood

Oakley's catshark

Oceanic whitetip shark

Ocellate topeshark

Ocellated angelshark

Oman bullhead shark

Onefin catshark

Orange spotted catshark

Ornate angelshark

Ornate dogfish

Ornate wobbegong

Pacific angelshark

Pacific nurse shark

Pacific sharpnose shark

Pacific sleeper shark

Pacific smalltail shark

Pacific spadenose shark

Pacific spiny dogfish

Painted swellshark

Pale catshark

Pale spotted catshark

Panama ghost catshark

Papua shorttail lanternshark

Papuan epaulette shark

Pelagic thresher shark

Peppered catshark

Phallic catshark

Philippines angelshark

Philippines ribbontail catshark

Philippines swellshark

Pigeye shark

Pink lanternshark

Pinocchio catshark

Plunket's shark

Pocket shark

Pondicherry shark

Porbeagle shark

Port Jackson shark

Portuguese dogfish

Prickly dogfish

Prickly shark

Puffadder shyshark

Pygmy lanternshark

Pygmy ribbontail catshark

Pygmy shark

Quagga catshark

Rasptooth dogfish

Redspotted catshark

Reticulated swellshark

Roughback catshark

Rough longnose dogfish

Roughskin catshark

Roughskin dogfish

Roughskin spurdog

Roughtail catshark

Rusty carpetshark

Rusty catshark

Saddle carpetshark

Saddled swellshark

Sailback houndshark

Sailfin roughshark

Salamander shark

Saldanha catshark

Salmon shark

Sandtiger shark

Sandbar shark

Sarawak pygmy swellshark

Sarawak smooth-hound

Sawback angelshark

Scalloped bonnethead

Scalloped hammerhead

Scoophead

Sculpted lanternshark

Seychelles carpetshark

Seychelles gulper shark

Seychelles spurdog

Sharpfin houndshark

Sharpnose sevengill shark

Sharptooth houndshark

Sharptooth smooth-hound

Sherwood dogfish

Shortbelly catshark

Shortfin mako

Shortfin smooth lanternshark

Shortnose demon catshark

Shortnose sawshark

Shortnose spurdog

Shortspine spurdog

Shorttail lanternshark

Shorttail nurse shark

Sicklefin houndshark

Sicklefin lemon shark

Sicklefin smooth-hound

Sicklefin weasel shark

Silky shark

Silvertip shark

Sixgill sawshark

Slender bamboo shark

Slender catshark

Slender gulper shark

Slender sawtail catshark

Slender smooth-hound

Slender weasel shark

Sliteye shark

Smallbelly catshark

Smalldorsal catshark

Smalleye catshark

Smalleye hammerhead

Smalleye lantern shark

Smalleye pygmy shark

Smalleye smooth-hound

Smallfin catshark

Smallfin gulper shark

Small-spotted catshark

Smalltail shark

Smalltooth sand tiger

Smoothback angelshark

Smooth hammerhead

Smooth lanternshark

Smoothtooth blacktip shark

Snaggletooth shark

Sombre catshark

South China catshark

Southern African frilled shark

Southern dogfish

Southern lanternshark

Southern lollipop catshark

Southern mandarin dogfish

Southern sawtail catshark

Southern sleeper shark

Spadenose shark

Sparsetooth dogfish

Spatulasnout catshark

Speartooth shark

Speckled carpetshark

Speckled catshark

Speckled smooth-hound

Speckled swellshark

Spined pygmy shark

Spinner shark

Spiny dogfish

Splendid lanternshark

Spongehead catshark

Spotless catshark

Spotless smooth-hound

Spottail shark

Spotted-belly catshark

Spotted estuary smooth-hound

Spotted houndshark

Spotted wobbegong

Springer's sawtail catshark

Starspotted smooth-hound

Starry catshark

Starry smooth-hound

Steven's swellshark

Straight-tooth weasel shark

Striped catshark

Striped smooth-hound

Sulu gollumshark

Swellshark

Taillight shark

Tailspot lanternshark

Taiwan angelshark

Taiwan saddled carpetshark

Taiwan spurdog

Tasselled wobbegong

Tawny nurse shark

Thorny lanternshark

Thresher shark

Tiger catshark

Tiger shark

Tope shark

Triton epaulette shark

Tropical sawshark

Variegated catshark

Velvet belly lanternshark

Velvet catshark

Velvet dogfish

Viper dogfish

West African catshark

West Indian lanternshark

Western angelshark

Western gulper shark

Western highfin spurdog

Western longnose spurdog

Western spotted catshark

Western spotted gummy shark

Western wobbegong

Whale shark

Whiskery shark

White-bodied catshark

Whitecheek shark

White-clasper catshark

Whitefin dogfish

White-fin smooth-hound

Whitefin swellshark

Whitefin topeshark

White ghost catshark

White-margin fin smooth-hound

Whitemarked gollumshark

Whitenose shark

Whitesaddled catshark

Whitespotted bamboo shark

Whitespotted bullhead shark

Whitespotted catshark

Whitespotted smooth-hound

Whitetail dogfish

White-tip catshark

Whitetip reef shark

Whitetip weasel shark

Winghead shark

Yellowspotted catshark

Zebra bullhead shark

Zebra shark

[murroughod]

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/a-deeper-look-at-our-mysterious-neighbour-the-shark-1.4455512

A deeper look at our mysterious neighbour the shark

In Ireland we are becoming more accustomed to sharks, with an increase in sightings of basking sharks along the west coast

“We need to get to know sharks better,” says artist Dorothy Cross. “There are 35 different types swimming in Irish waters, and yet we’re largely oblivious. These beautiful, svelte creatures have been on this planet for over 400 million years, and are so perfectly formed that they have remained largely unchanged for the last 100 million years.”

Her introduction to the world of sharks was a typical one of fear – while living in California and reading of attacks by great whites in San Francisco Bay. But once she learned to scuba dive it quickly turned to fascination.

"The first dive I ever made was with hammerheads in the Galápagos, and it was an extraordinary experience: realising I was in their territory and seeing how calmly they observed me, these exquisite, amazing creatures."

Winter Nights

Since then she has dived with different types of shark all around the world, and spent time with shark-callers on the island of New Ireland off Papua New Guinea, where local men ritualistically sing to lure sharks up from the deep, believing their ancestors guide the shark to be caught to feed the community.

READ MORE

“The shark-caller sleeps in isolation and abstains from many things before heading out alone on a small dugout canoe to fish. When he catches a shark he sounds a conch, and the villagers rush to the shore to share the animal,” says Cross. “The caller gets the liver and the fins, and everyone cooks the meat together on hot stones in pits.”

Closer to home we are all gradually becoming more accustomed to sharks, with the increased sightings of basking sharks along the west coast, and even a confirmed report of a smooth hammerhead shark 160km southwest of Ireland on the continental shelf edge last year.

This was the first time the species has been seen in Irish waters, and with its classic hammer-shaped head and tall, slender dorsal fin it's unlike anything encountered here before. This discovery followed closely on the announcement by the Irish Marine Institute of a deep-water nursery of blackmouth catsharks 300km west of Ireland, which they spotted while surveying with a remotely operated vehicle.

Scientists believe that up to 10 new species of shark may become common in Irish waters as sea temperatures rise in coming decades, including blacktips, sand tigers and longfin makos. The hammerheads too will be more frequent – these placid monsters that have never killed a human and give birth to live young in the shallow sandy waters near the Caribbean and West Africa. Many of these species are facing increasing threat from over-fishing, plastic waste and climate change. Some are facing outright extinction.

The hammerhead is listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, and is being increasingly targeted for the shark fin trade. The porbeagle and angel shark found in Irish waters are both on the “critically endangered” list, while the leafscale gulper shark and basking shark are classified as “endangered”.

Symbiotic

Cross’s lingering memory of her time in New Ireland in 2006 was how the silky, mako and oceanic white tip sharks were becoming worryingly scarce due to increased fishing by Malaysians and Chinese, who harvest their fins for traditional cures and shark fin soup.

“The ancient way of life for the New Irelanders is coming to an end,” says Cross. “What was a balanced life, symbiotic with what nature provided, is becoming extinct.”

The fact that shark fishing is becoming an increasingly popular tourism activity in Ireland is particularly upsetting for Cross. It's a key feature offered all along the Wild Atlantic Way from Cork to Donegal.

“I wish these people realised how important sharks are for the biology of the ocean,” says Cross. “They are top of the food chain and so everything beneath relies on them. They are vital to ensuring ecological balance, yet they are under such threat from anglers.”

Dorothy Cross holding shark. Photograph: Sue Flood

Ireland is not currently involved in shark finning, but we do catch a significant amount of sharks for sport – it is “catch and release” and the fish are tagged as part of a marine programme overseen by the Irish Central Fisheries Board.

Yet many sharks still end up with barbed hooks corroding in their bodies, and long lines of broken tackle trailing from their mouths.

Deep-sea angling enterprises along the west coast of Ireland claim to have landed more than two dozen blue sharks in one day with average catches in double figures. During the season almost every shark fishing trip is successful, but luring and landing a blue shark that can weigh up to 65kg or a porbeagle that can reach 100kg without doing harm is very difficult.

“What pleasure could anyone get from traumatising an animal for hours on the end of a hook that is probably lodged in their stomach?” asks Cross.

Their release is of no real solace to her, as her brother, zoologist Prof Tom Cross, suggests that if the sharks are “played” too long on the line their muscles build up an excess of lactic acid that can prove fatal, or they can bleed to death after release.

That said, sharks that have been caught and tagged in Irish waters have been recaught as far away as the Cape Verde Islands, but the impetus is to bring them aboard and tag and release them as quickly as possible.

Shark’s heart

As an artist Cross has done more than most to highlight the plight of sharks in works like Relic (2009), which consists of the skin of a porbeagle shark she bought from a fishmonger in the English Market in Cork that was then lined with 14 carat gold, or Shark Heart Submarine (2011), which has a preserved shark’s heart encased in a model of a nuclear submarine and is now in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Ireland.

"I've used blue sharks, basking sharks and porbeagles in the work. All were washed up dead on the coastline or caught by fishermen when shark was still allowed to be sold to eat in Ireland. Gladly that is no longer the case. When I went to Trinity College to meet the queen of England I had the skin of a basking shark defrosting on the back seat of my car."

Cross acknowledges that some of her art could be regarded as pro-shark polemic, although works such as Basking Shark Currach (2013), which consists of the skin of a basking shark hand-stitched on to the skeleton of a small currach, or Everest Shark (2013) are important pieces in their own right.

It gave her particular pleasure to have the artwork Relic, featuring the gold-lined porbeagle, displayed in the Bloomberg SPACE in London, a centre of international currency speculation. "The currency traders would have recognised the value of the gold, but probably not that of the poor shark."

The work Relic, a porbeagle shark lined with gold leaf

It is regrettable that Hollywood has commodified the shark; making it a crass motif to signal fear and threat. “They now epitomise the human fear of our own mortality,” says Cross. “We are all going to die, but unlikely from an accidental shark attack.”

She acknowledges that sharks, in rare circumstances, can be dangerous, but attacks occur largely through misidentification. “We appear from below like their food – like seals and small fish. Their preferred food is blubbery and soft. Our bony bodies are not palatable.”

Her desire is to see Irish people becoming guardians of our sharks, as we are for dolphins and whales.

“We need to start appreciating the mystery of them; the fact that scientists had no proof that they sleep until recently, or that no human has ever seen a great white mating.”

The fact that they disturb us is valuable, she believes – “it’s good for us to be shaken out of our complacency”.

“I like that both art and sharks are elusive and disturbing, navigating between the seen and unseen. They are both revelatory and essential.”

[wholesome-sharks]

Blackmouth catshark. Photo by Andy Murch.

[todropscience]

This is a how a shark nursery looks like. A team of marine scientists have discovered a Blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus) nursery, 320 km west of Ireland while investigating Ireland’s deep ocean territory.  Despite blackmouth shark are common, this is a rare finding. Using ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicle), researchers captured underwater images of an area dominated by blackmouth sharks, images show a very large numbers of egg cases filmed on the seafloor at depths of up to 750 metres. What strongly suggests this area as an breeding zone, where sharks meet and copulates, and where females may gather in the area to lay their eggs.

Video source: marineinstituteIRL

[Gif 1 and 2 description: blackmouth catshark are small and thin. Are swimming near the bottom, surrounding a large number of egg case]

[dzamie]

Marine Scientists Make Shock Discovery As They Capture A Skinless Shark

"Unfortunately for our blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus), this protective tool was completely absent as inspection of its “skin” revealed it had a severe lack of all skin-related structures: epidermis, part of dermis, dermal denticles, and teeth. Rough luck, lil' swimmer."

[inaturalist]

Observation of the Week, 11/14/17

This pair of blackmouth catsharks, seen off of Spain by gmucientes, is our Observation of the Week!

A marine biologist who’s currently researching the spatial ecology of pelagic sharks, Gonzalo Sandoval is often far away from the mainland while at work, off of the Azores or Cape Verde, so last month’s research excursion just off of northwestern Spain, was a pretty short sojourn for him.

He was conducting a survey about blue sharks, and recalls taht “while waiting for the blue sharks to appear we wondered what shark species live at the very bottom. We were able to capture two Galeus melastomus [blackmouth catsharks] individuals at 700 meters depth.” Gonzalo uses “rod and reel and longliners” to capture sharks for his surveys, and says

juveniles live in shallower waters than adults, this explains why I found these juvenile sharks in not very deep water. Adults can [dive to] 1400m. This shark is abundant in the northeast Atlantic continental slope. It is oviparous and can have several mature eggs in oviduct simultaneously. Despite fishing pressure (by-catch) populations don't seem to decline.”

Named, unsurprisingly, for the black color of its mouth tissue, blackmouth catsharks are generalist feeders, who often swim along the muddy bottoms and use the the ampullae of lorenzini in their large snouts to suss out prey - often crustaceans, fish, and cephalopods. They grow to about 67 cm (26 in) in length, and weigh about 1.4 kg (3.1 lb).

As these juvenile sharks were not a target species for Gonzalo, and were very small, they were let go without being tagged. In addition to blue sharks, he also studies shortfin mako sharks, and says he is “currently conducting a PhD in spatial ecology, feeding and fisheries of the mako. In combination with my academic activity, I regularly get involved in scientific surveys and other research projects as a professional diver or biologist consultant.”

Gonzalo (above, tagging a mako), explains that

since I was a kid, I enjoyed watching animals in their habitats and trying to understand their behaviours. First close from home. Later, on bigger exploration trips across mountains, jungles and the open ocean... I consider myself a passionate life watcher in my free time and a marine biologist at work...iNaturalist is the perfect tool to organise my field data and contribute to the ecological pool knowledge and share these observations with other people interested.

by Tony Iwane

- Here are videos of a tagged mako being released, as well as a group of juvenile blue sharks from Gonzalo’s work. 

- Gonzalo is the co-founder of Ecologia Azul, an association of people dedicated to research, exploration and conservation of nature.

[shark-a-day]

Todays shark is...

The Atlantic Sawtail Catshark!

Fun Fact: It resembles the Blackmouth Catshark, and they were thought to be the same species, until 2007 when DNA tests showed that they were separate species!

[leandra-kinard]

This rather tiny (50-80 cm) and completely harmless shark can only be found in deep waters around the continental slope.