New Record of the Velvet Belly Lanternshark Etmopterus spinax (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Deep Seas of Northern Cyprus
Abstract
Lantern sharks are small shark species that can be seen at depths between 70 and 2000 meters. Due to their luminescent characteristics, they have been called “Lantern shark”. In total eleven specimens of the velvet belly lantern shark, Etmopterus spinax (Linnaeus, 1758), were caught in the deep seas of Northern Cyprus by using a bottom trawl. Sampling was carried out using 13 trawling operations. The collected samples were placed in 4% formalin and stored at the Museum of the Systematic, Faculty of Fisheries, Mersin University, (catalogue number: MEUFC-18-11-082). As a sampling area, the depths between 274 and 641 m were selected. Other cartilaginous fish caught during sampling except E. spinax were Galeus melastomus (1 individual), Squalus acanthias (4 individuals), Scyliorhinus canicula (85 individuals). E. spinax made up 10.89% of all cartilaginous fishes which were caught. Species identification for all fishes caught is made with the help of morphological features.
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References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Engineering
Journal Section
Research Article
Publication Date
January 31, 2020
Submission Date
July 24, 2019
Acceptance Date
October 17, 2019
Published in Issue
Year 2020 Volume: 8 Number: 1