The Iceland or Icelandic catshark (Apristurus laurussonii) is a species of shark, belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This catshark is found in the western Atlantic, from Massachusetts, Delaware, and the northern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the eastern Atlantic from Iceland, southwestern Ireland, the Canary Islands, Madeira, South Africa, and between 67 and 11°N. They are found in depths of 550 to 1450 meters near or at the bottom over upper continental slopes.
| Iceland catshark | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Order: | Carcharhiniformes |
| Family: | Pentanchidae |
| Genus: | Apristurus |
| Species: | A. laurussonii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Apristurus laurussonii (Sæmundsson, 1922)
| |
| |
| Range of the Iceland catshark | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Apristurus maderensis Cadenat & Maul, 1966
| |
Etymology
editThe catshark was named in honor of Sæmundsson’s friend Gísli Lárusson (1865–1935), a goldsmith, a watchmaker, farmer and nature enthusiast, for his support of the study of Icelandic fishes.[2]
Description
editIt has a relatively slender body, tapering slightly toward the head. It has a broad and somewhat long, bell-shaped snout. It has short gill slits, and adults have small eyes. The first and second dorsal fins are almost the same size. It is dark brown with no prominent markings. It reaches a maximum size of around 67 cm. The average size ranges from 50 cm to 60 cm. Its diet consists of squid, bony fish, marine worms (such as the lugworm or clam worm), and crustaceans, including lobster, shrimp, and crabs.
References
edit- ^ Kulka, D.W.; Cotton, C.F.; Anderson, B.; Crysler, Z.; Herman, K.; Dulvy, N.K. (2020). "Apristurus laurussonii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T44216A124430838. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T44216A124430838.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 September 2018). "Order CARCHARHINIFORMES (Ground Sharks): Families PENTANCHIDAE, SCYLIORHINIDAE, PROSCYLLIIDAE, PSEUDOTRIAKIDAE, LEPTOCHARIIDAE, TRIAKIDAE, HEMIGALEIDAE, CARCHARHINIDAE and SPHYRNIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Apristurus laurussonii". FishBase. July 2006 version.
- Compagno, L.J.V., 1999. Checklist of living elasmobranchs. p. 471–498. In W.C. Hamlett (ed.) Sharks, skates, and rays: the biology of elasmobranch fishes. Johns Hopkins University Press, Maryland.
 | This shark-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |