Prickly Dogfish, Oxynotus bruniensis (Ogilby 1893)

Other Names: Prickley Dogfish, Rough Shark

Summary:

An unusual deep-sea shark covered in large extremely rough denticles - hence the common name. The body is deep, hump-backed and almost triangular in cross-section with a flattened underside, a small head with a short, blunt snout, and two sail-like dorsal fins, each preceded by a robust spine. Prickly Dogfish are uniformly greyish-brown with paler margins on the dorsal and caudal fins.

Prickly Dogfish are uncommon and are occasionally taken as bycatch in commercial trawls.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2017, Oxynotus bruniensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 28 Sep 2023, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2016

Prickly Dogfish, Oxynotus bruniensis (Ogilby 1893)

More Info

Distribution	Widespread in southern Australia from southern Queensland to the western part of the Great Australian Bight, Western Australia. The species also occurs in the Tasman Sea and throughout New Zealand.
Size	Maximum size is about 72 cm TL (total length).
Feeding	Carnivore. Finucci et al. (2016) found that Prickly Dogfish feed exclusively on the egg capsules of chimaeras.
Biology	Little is known of the biology. Prickly Dogfish are aplacental viviparous (ovoviviparous), and females appear to give birth to 7-8 young. The pups are born at a length of about 24 cm. Estimated size-at-maturity is 54·7 cm LT in males and 64·0 cm LT in females. Three gravid females (65·0, 67·5 and 71·2 cm LT) were observed, all with eight embryos. Size-at-birth was estimated to be 25–27 cm LT (Finucci et al. 2016).
Fisheries	Occasionally taken as bycatch in commercial bottom trawl fisheries.
Species Citation	Centrina bruniensis, Ogilby 1893, Rec. Aust. Mus. 2(5): 62. Type locality: On the beach at Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia
Author	Bray, D.J. 2017
Resources	Australian Faunal Directory

Prickly Dogfish, Oxynotus bruniensis (Ogilby 1893)

References

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White, W. 2008. Shark Families Heterodontidae to Pristiophoridae. pp. 32-100 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.

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