Pentanchidae

Family Pentanchidae

Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810 —Blackmouth catshark

One female of 70 cm TL was caught at depths between 669 and 676 m. Habitat and Distribution: deepwater bottom shark found on the outer continental shelves and upper slopes, mainly between 200 and 500 m but occasionally up to 55 m and down to 2000 m. Eastern North Atlantic, from Norway to Senegal and throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Vulnerability: LC (IUCN), HV (FishBase).

Galeus murinus (Collett, 1904) —Mouse catshark (Fig. 3)

18 specimens between 29 and 44 cm TL were caught at a depth range from 1,450 to 1,683 m, with males between 29–41 cm TL (N=5) and females between 31–44 cm (N=13). Habitat and Distribution: Iceland to the Faroe Islands, Scotland, the Hebrides Islands, Ireland, France, Spain, Morocco, and western Sahara. Vulnerability: LC (IUCN), MHV (FishBase).

Apristurus aphyodes Nakaya & Stehmann, 1998 —No common name

18 specimens, 6 males ranging from 24 to 39 cm and 12 females from 22 to 37 cm TL, were caught at a depth range of 1,460–1,809 m. Habitat and Distribution: bathydemersal deepwater species known from continental slopes, on or near bottom at depths of 380 to 1,250 m. North Atlantic, from Iceland to the northern Bay of Biscay. The Galicia Bank records constitute the southern limit in the distribution of this species (Rodríguez-Cabello et al. 2014). Vulnerability: DD (IUCN), HHV (FishBase).

Apristurus profundorum (Smith & Radcliffe, 1912)—Arrowhead dogfish

One female of 14 cm TL was caught at 1,459 m depth. Habitat and Distribution: deepwater shark found on the continental slopes at 1,100 to 1,830 m. Reported in the western North Atlantic, the mid-Atlantic Ridge and eastern North Atlantic (Mauritania). This record extends northwards the known distribution of this species in the Northeast Atlantic (Rodríguez-Cabello et al. 2014). Vulnerability: DD (IUCN), MHV (FishBase).

Apristurus melanoasper Iglesias, Nakaya and Stehmann, 2004 —Black roughscale catshark

One female of 25 cm TL was caught at 1,683 m depth. Habitat and Distribution: widely distributed but very patchy in the North Atlantic, southeastern Atlantic (Namibia), Central Indian Ocean and south of Madagascar, and in the western South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia). This record extends the known distribution of this species in the Northeast Atlantic (Rodríguez-Cabello et al. 2014). Vulnerability: DD (IUCN), MHV (FishBase).