ANIMAL SPECIES:Frill Shark, Chlamydoselachus anguineus Garman, 1884
The Frill Shark has a long slender eel-like body and lives in colder water depths feeding in caves and crevices on the continental slopes.
Alternative Names/s
Frilled SharkIdentification
The Frill Shark can be recognised by its slender eel-like body, six pairs of gill slits, terminal mouth, three-pronged teeth, single dorsal fin, caudal fin without a lower lobe, and brown colour.
The jaws can be opened very wide. Little effort was required to open the mouth wide enough to photograph the upper and lower jaws.
The Frill Shark's teeth at the margins of the jaw are gradually replaced by those behind. The teeth have three long cusps with a tiny cusplet at the base of each "V" formed by the the large cusps.
Size range
This species grows to a maximum length of about 2 m.Distribution by collection data
Biomaps map of Frill Shark specimens in the Australian Museum collection.
Behaviour and adaptations
Feeding and Diet
According to Last and Stevens (1994), the few stomach contents that have been examined included other elasmobranchs (sharks and rays). The species has been reported to feed in caves and crevices on the continental slope.
Mating and reproduction
During mating, one clasper is inserted into the body of the female Frill Shark to facilitate sperm transfer.
Evolutionary Relationships
<em>Chlamydoselachus anguineus</em> is the only living species in the Family Chlamydoselachidae.
Classification
- Species:
- anguineus
- Genus:
- Chlamydoselachus
- Family:
- Chlamydoselachidae
- Class:
- Chondrichthyes
- Subphylum:
- Vertebrata
- Phylum:
- Chordata
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
References
- Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513, Pl. 1-84.
- Stevens, J. & P.R. Last in Paxton, J.R. & W.N. Eschmeyer (Eds). 1994. Encyclopedia of Fishes. Sydney: New South Wales University Press. Pp. 240.
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