Animal Species:Mandarin Shark, Cirrhigaleus australis White, Last & Stevens, 2007

Alternative Name/s

Southern Mandarin Dogshark

Identification

The Mandarin Shark has two widely spaced dorsal fins that are both preceded by a long spine. There is a pair of long nasal lobes on the underside of the snout.

It is grey-brown above and pale below. The posterior margins of the pectoral and pelvic fins are white.

For many years the species was confused with the Cirrhigaleus barbifer, which occurs in the western North Pacific and Indonesia. The two species can be distinguished by morphology and differences in the CO1 gene. The Mandarin Shark has a smaller eye, shorter dorsal-caudal space and smaller pectoral fins, dorsal fins and spines.
 

Size range

The species grows to 1.2 m in length.

Distribution

The Mandarin Shark occurs of south-eastern Australia and from the Bay of Plenty region, North Island, New Zealand.

In Australia it is known from off the Sydney region, New South Wales to off eastern Tasmania.

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Mandarin Shark specimens in the Australian Museums.

What does this mean?

Habitat

The species is found in continental slope waters at depths between 360 m and 640 m.

Classification

Species:

australis

Genus:

Cirrhigaleus

Family:

Squalidae

Order:

Squaliformes

Class:

Chondrichthyes

Subphylum:

Vertebrata

Phylum:

Chordata

Kingdom:

Animalia

What does this mean?

References

1. Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513.
2. White, W.T., Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 2007. Cirrhigaleus australis n. sp., a new Mandarin dogfish (Squaliformes: Squalidae) from the south-west Pacific. Zootaxa. 1560: 19-30.

 

Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated: 14 July 2012

Tags fishes, ichthyology, Mandarin Shark, Southern Mandarin Dogfish, Cirrhigaleus australis, Squalidae, shark, two dorsal fins, long spine, odd-shaped, nasal lobes, grey-brown, grey, brown, white pelvic fins, > 1m, marine, adult,