Roughskin dogfish

The roughskin dogfish (Centroscymnus owstonii) is a sleeper shark of the family Somniosidae, found around the world on continental shelves in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas, at depths of between 100 and 1,500 m.^[2][3] It reaches a length of 121 cm.^[2]

Roughskin dogfish
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Order:	Squaliformes
Family:	Somniosidae
Genus:	Centroscymnus
Species:	C. owstonii
Binomial name
Centroscymnus owstonii (Garman, 1906)
Range of the roughskin dogfish (in blue)
Synonyms
Centroscymnus cryptacanthus Regan, 1906

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This species is distributed in deep-sea communities throughout the western and eastern Indian Ocean^[4] as well as in the south-central Atlantic Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean (Tasmania).^[5]

Conservation status

The New Zealand Department of Conservation has classified the roughskin dogfish as "Not Threatened" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.^[6]

Ecosystem

Centroscymnus owstonii holds importance in its ecosystem as a predator and component of the upper slope assemblage, as it maintains an ecological balance in deep-sea communities. Particularly, in the depth range of 750–2050 meters, it contributes substantially (>60%) to the biomass and assemblage similarity.^[7]

Diet

As a top predator, the prey of C. owstonii consists mainly of fishes, with small proportions of crustaceans, squid and salps. The fish prey were predominantly hoki, with some mesopelagic sea bream (B. australis and B. brama), slender tuna (Allothunnus fallai), and a demersal rattail (Coelorinchus bollonsi).^[8]

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of Alan Owston (1853‒ 1915), an English businessman, a yachtsman, and a collector of Asian wildlife, who obtained the holotype.^[9]

References

1. Finucci, B.; Kyne, P.M. (2018). "Centroscymnus owstonii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T41749A68615392. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T41749A68615392.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. Carpenter, Kent E.; Capuli, Estelita Emily (2019). "Centroscymnus owstonii Garman, 1906 Roughskin dogfish". Fishbase. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
3. Ayling, Tony; Cox, Geoffrey J. (1982). Collins guide to the sea fishes of New Zealand. Auckland [N.Z.]: Collins. ISBN 978-0002169875. OCLC 9506630.
4. Weigmann, Simon; Vaz, Diego F. B.; White, William T.; de Carvalho, Marcelo R.; Thiel, Ralf (2016-09-01). "Distribution and comments on the morphology of Centroscymnus owstonii Garman, 1906 (Squaliformes: Somniosidae), with focus on its occurrence in the Indian Ocean". Marine Biodiversity. 46 (3): 641–653. doi:10.1007/s12526-015-0413-x. ISSN 1867-1624.
5. Turoczy, N. J.; Laurenson, L. J. B.; Allinson, G.; Nishikawa, M.; Lambert, D. F.; Smith, C.; Cottier, J. P. E.; Irvine, S. B.; Stagnitti, Frank (2000-09-01). "Observations on Metal Concentrations in Three Species of Shark ( Deania calcea , Centroscymnus crepidater , and Centroscymnus owstoni ) from Southeastern Australian Waters". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 48 (9): 4357–4364. doi:10.1021/jf000285z. ISSN 0021-8561.
6. Duffy, Clinton A. J.; Francis, Malcolm; Dunn, M. R.; Finucci, Brit; Ford, Richard; Hitchmough, Rod; Rolfe, Jeremy (2018). Conservation status of New Zealand chondrichthyans (chimaeras, sharks and rays), 2016 (PDF). Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation. p. 9. ISBN 9781988514628. OCLC 1042901090.
7. Triay-Portella, Raül; González, José A.; Lorenzo, José M.; Pajuelo, José G. (2023-04-01). "Structure and composition of the deep-sea fish community between 150 and 2050 m depth on the Canary Islands, eastern-central Atlantic". Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 194: 103966. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2023.103966. hdl:10553/120368. ISSN 0967-0637.
8. Dunn, Matthew R; Szabo, Ava; McVeagh, Margaret S.; Smith, Peter J. (2010-07-01). "The diet of deepwater sharks and the benefits of using DNA identification of prey". Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 57 (7): 923–930. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2010.02.006. ISSN 0967-0637.
9. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 September 2018). "Family SOMNIOSIDAE Jordan 1888 (Sleeper Sharks)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 26 November 2024.