Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) >
Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) >
Pentanchidae (Deepwater catsharks)
Etymology: Apristurus: a-, Latin privative, i.e., without; pristis, from pristes (Gr.), sawyer (but here meaning saw); oura (Gr.), tail, referring to absence of saw-toothed crest of enlarged dermal denticles along upper edge of caudal fin as found in the closely related Pristiurus (=Galeus) (See ETYFish); bucephalus: bu- (L.), prefix meaning large; cephalus, from kephale (Gr.), head, referring to its large, broad head (See ETYFish).
More on authors: White, Last & Pogonoski.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 1030 - 1140 m (Ref. 76944). Deep-water
Eastern Indian Ocean: Western Australia.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 67.5 cm TL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
This moderately-large species has the following characters: labial furrows of upper and lower subequal in length; relatively short preorbital snout; very robust head, its width (at mouth corners) 13.9% TL; large mouth, its width 11.1% TL; large orbit, its length 3.7% TL; relatively long length of prepectoral and prepelvic; first dorsal fin is slightly smaller than second one, its origin well forward of pelvic fin insertion; tall anal fin, short based, triangular in shape; widely spaced dermal denticles, moderately large, deciduous, with long medial cusps; species size to at least 67.5 cm TL; uniformly medium yellowish brown body and fins ; about 66 teeth rows in upper jaw, about 55 rows in lower jaw; adult female teeth with 5 cusps, 1 very long medial cusp, 2 much shorter inner lateral cusps, 2 much shorter outer lateral cusps situated anteriorly to inner lateral cusps; 35 monospondylous vertebrae; 26 diplospondylous precaudal vertebrae; about 108 total vertebrae (Ref. 76944).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
White, W.T., P.R. Last and J.J. Pogonoski, 2008. Apristurus bucephalus sp. nov., a new deepwater catshark (Carcharhiniformes: Scyliorhinidae) from southwestern Australia. pp. 105-111. In P.R. Last, W.T. White and J.J. Pogonoski (eds). Descriptions of new Australian chondrichthyans. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper no. 22. 365 p. (Ref. 76944)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 3.2 - 4.9, mean 4.4 °C (based on 17 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00355 (0.00175 - 0.00721), b=3.08 (2.90 - 3.26), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.9 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec assumed to be < 10).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (47 of 100).
