This beautiful, small shark is no danger to humans. In the past its skin
was dried and used as sandpaper. But the skin is not as rough as that
of most sharks. This shark is sometimes called a "dogfish" for its habit
of hunting for food in "packs," as wild dogs do.
Class: rays, sharks, and relatives
Order: ground sharks
Family: catsharks
Length: up to 39 inches
Diet: mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and small fish
Method of Reproduction: egg layer
Home: eastern Atlantic Ocean
The small-spotted catshark is one of the best-known European sharks. It prefers to live along the sandy bottom of coastal waters. Near the British Isles, small-spotted catsharks are caught commercially and eaten either fresh or salted. They are also processed to make shark oil and fish meal.
Small-spotted catsharks often gather in separate-sex groups. The female schools travel to their spawning grounds in early winter. The males join them in early spring. Then, in summer, the sharks form pairs and move into deep waters to mate. Some kinds of sharks give birth to live young, and others produce eggs. The small-spotted catshark is an egg layer. The female has two egg tubes and lays one egg at a time -from one tube and then from the other. Most eggs are laid between November and July.
The egg of the small-spotted catshark emerges in a hard, nearly transparent case covered with long threads. The threads tangle around seaweed in shallow water. Anchored in place, the egg continues to develop for 5 to 11 months. Most small-spotted catsharks hatch after 8 or 9 months.
Basic Facts
Class: rays, sharks, and relatives
Order: ground sharks
Family: catsharks
Length: up to 39 inches
Diet: mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and small fish
Method of Reproduction: egg layer
Home: eastern Atlantic Ocean
The small-spotted catshark is one of the best-known European sharks. It prefers to live along the sandy bottom of coastal waters. Near the British Isles, small-spotted catsharks are caught commercially and eaten either fresh or salted. They are also processed to make shark oil and fish meal.
Small-spotted catsharks often gather in separate-sex groups. The female schools travel to their spawning grounds in early winter. The males join them in early spring. Then, in summer, the sharks form pairs and move into deep waters to mate. Some kinds of sharks give birth to live young, and others produce eggs. The small-spotted catshark is an egg layer. The female has two egg tubes and lays one egg at a time -from one tube and then from the other. Most eggs are laid between November and July.
The egg of the small-spotted catshark emerges in a hard, nearly transparent case covered with long threads. The threads tangle around seaweed in shallow water. Anchored in place, the egg continues to develop for 5 to 11 months. Most small-spotted catsharks hatch after 8 or 9 months.
0 comments:
Post a Comment