Lamnidae

Family Lamnidae

Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758) —Tubarão-branco, Great white shark

Lichtenstein 1844: 2 (as Squalus carcharias)

Albuquerque 1954 –1956: 89 | Springer 1973a: 13 | Compagno 1984a: 238–242; 2001: 100 | Quéro 1984b: 84 | Sanches 1986: 56 | Lloris et al. 1991: 223 | Carneiro et al. 2014: 10.

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira, Azores (Santos et al. 1997; Porteiro et al. 2010), Canary Islands (Brito et al. 2002; Brito Hernández & Sancho Rafel 2003) and Cape Verde (Reiner 1996, 2005).

Remarks. although there are no specimens in MMF collection, the species is included in the present checklist since it was visually identified several times in Madeira EEZ, including by one of the authors (MB). The DSI reported a capture in 1982 of one specimen in a tuna longline at a depth of 168–200 m, SW of Porto Santo. Wirtz et al. (2008) did not include it in their checklist since it was not considered a coastal fish (recorded only from the open ocean).

* Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810 — Marracho; Shortfin mako

Günther 1870: 390 | Noronha & Sarmento 1934: 115 (as Lamna spallanzanii)

Maul 1948: 138 | Nunes 1953: 158 | Noronha & Sarmento 1948: 111 (as Lamna oxyrinchus)

Albuquerque 1954 –56: 87 (as Isurus oxyrhynchus sic)

Fowler 1936: 33 | Springer 1973a: 14 | Cadenat & Blache 1981: 157–160 | Quéro 1984b: 85 | Sanches 1986: 57 | Wirtz et al. 2008: 2 | Carneiro et al. 2014: 11.

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira, Azores (Santos et al. 1997; Porteiro et al. 2010), the Canary Islands (Brito et al. 2002; Brito Hernández & Sancho Rafel 2003) and Cape Verde (Reiner 1996, 2005; Wirtz et al. 2013).

Remarks. Maul (1948) refers as doubtful record (see Remarks on next species), but there are one mounted specimen (no date) in MMF exhibition and two formalin preserved specimens dated from 2011 (MMF 41667) and 2015 (MMF 44383).

* Lamna nasus (Bonnaterre, 1788) —Marracho; Porbeagle

Lowe 1838:194 | Belloc 1934: 138 | Noronha & Sarmento 1934: 115 and 140 | Nobre 1935: 430 (as Lamna cornubica)

Fowler 1936: 32 | Albuquerque 1954 –56: 86 (as Isurus nasus)

Noronha & Sarmento 1948: 111 | Maul 1948: 137 | Nunes 1953: 158 | Springer 1973a: 13 | Sanches 1986: 55 | Compagno 1984a: 248–249 | Wirtz et al. 2008: 2 | Carneiro et al. 2014: 11.

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira, Azores (Santos et al. 1997; Porteiro et al. 2010), Canary Islands (Brito et al. 2002) and Cape Verde (Reiner 1996, 2005).

Remarks. although there are no preserved specimens collected in Madeira, these waters are inside the species’ distribution area (Ebert & Stehmann 2013). Moreover, a recent study on migration patterns of porbeagle shark in the Northeast Atlantic, confirmed the occurrence of this species to Madeiran waters, with one of the tagged sharks being spotted off Madeira (Biais et al. 2017). Wirtz et al. (2008) refer that it was erroneously noted as common by Maul (1948), due to a typographical error. This remark was originally meant for Isurus oxyrhynchus and the reference to a doubtful presence, for L. nasus. (pers. comm. of G. E. Maul to M. Biscoito).