
Shark of the Month
~
June 2021
Angular Roughshark

Photo credit: Featured Creature
Angular Roughshark
Oxynotus centrina
Quick Facts:
-
They have no commercial value in the Mediterranean because local fisherman think they’re bad luck.
-
Uniquely shaped rough-shark with huge knobs covered in dermal denticles over the eyes.
-
Located on continental shelves and upper slope from 50−780m. The most common at depths >100m.
-
To move, the Angular roughshark glides on the bottom, sometimes hovering over the sandy or muddy surfaces of the seabed.
-
In Angola, the litter size is around 7-8 pups. In the Mediterranean they have up to 23.
-
Have lanceolate upper teeth and blade-like lower teeth with 12 rows of teeth on either side.
-
They have a compressed body, triangular in cross section, with a broad and flattened head.
Location: Found in the eastern Atlantic, from Norway to South Africa and throughout the Mediterranean. Once present in the Adriatic and Aegean seas, but are now rare in these areas.
​
Length: 50-150cm (19-59 inches).
​
Age span: N/A.
​
Weight: N/A.
​
Conservation Status: Vulnerable.
​
Diet: Benthic worms, crustaceans, molluscs, and teleost fishes. Can predate on the contents of elasmobranch eggcases. Thought to be a suction feeder.
For more information on the Angular Roughshark, take a look at the following:
​
http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=fnam&id=1000
​
https://planetsharkdivers.com/angular-roughshark/
​
https://www.sharkwater.com/shark-database/sharks/angular-roughshark/
​
https://www.fishbase.in/summary/Oxynotus-centrina
​
https://www.sharktrust.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=49354a9d-2161-49b5-81c0-3515a8ac63ff
Previous Sharks of the Month
