Author: Cervigon, 1961

Field Marks:
Short, blunt snout, high, sail-like dorsal fins with spines, no anal fin, first dorsal spine inclined forward, high, thick, triangular body with large, coarse denticles, small, circular spiracles, lanceolate upper teeth, lower bladelike teeth in less than 12 rows, colour pattern of dark bands on a light background.

Diagnostic Features:
Spiracle small and circular. Supraorbital ridges not greatly expanded and not forming a knob in front of spiracles. Apices of dorsal fins narrowly triangular, posterior margins strongly concave; first dorsal spine inclined forward. Colour grey or brownish, with dark blotches and small spots on head, body, tail, and fins, separated by prominent light areas over pectoral and pelvic fins.

Geographical Distribution:
Western North Atlantic: Venezuela.

Habitat and Biology:
A little-known bottom shark of the upper continental slope off Venezuela and possibly elsewhere in the Caribbean, at depths of 402 to 457 m (bottom temperatures 9.4 to 11.1°C).

Size:
Maximum total length 49 cm (adult male), immatures (male and female) 20 to 21 cm.

Interest to Fisheries:
None at present.

Type material:
Holotype: Museo del Laboratorio de Biologia Pesquera del Ministerio de Agricultura y Cria, Caiguire, Venezuela, 494 mm male, probably adult. Type Locality: 60 miles north of la Blanquilla Island, Venezuela, at 457 m depth.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Chondrichthyes
Subclass Elasmobranchii
Superorder Squalomorphii
Order Squaliformes
Family Oxynotidae
Genus Oxynotus
Species Oxynotus caribbaeus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Oxynotus caribbaeus Cervigón, 1961

Scientific synonyms and common names

Oxynotus caribbaeus Cervigon, 1961

Oxynotus caribbaeus Cervigon, 1961, Noved.Cient.Contrib.Ocas.Mus.Hist.Nat.La Salle(Ser.Zool.), (27):10 p., figs 1-4.

Synonymy: None.

FAO Names:
Caribbean roughshark [English]
Centrine antillaise [French]
Tiburón ojinoto [Spanish]
OXYN Oxyn 1 [FAO Code]

Cervigón M., F., 1961. Una nueva especie de Oxynotus de las costas de Venezuela (A new species of Oxynotus from the coast of Venezuela.). Noved.Cient.Contrib.Ocas.Mus.Hist.Nat. La Salle (Ser.Zool.), (27):10 p.

Carpenter, J.S., 1966. Capture of immature Oxynotus caribbaeus Cervigón from the type locality, Copeia, 1966:356-7

Compagno, L.J.V. and R. Vergara R., Triakidae. 1978. In FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic. Fishing Area 31, edited by W. Fischer. FAO, Rome, Vol. 5:pag.var.

Cadenat, J. and J. Blache, 1981. Requins de Mediterranee et d'Atlantique. Faune Trop.ORSTOM, 21:330 p.

You can continue searching for Oxynotus caribbaeus on one of these Web sites:

Fauna Europaea (animals) | IOPI (plants) | NCBI (genetic)

Google | Yahoo | MSN | Wikipedia