Eastern Angelshark, Squatina albipunctata Last & White 2008

Other Names: Western Angelshark

An Eastern Angel Shark, Squatina albipunctata, Cabbage Tree Bay, Manly, New South Wales, 14 Nov 2016. Source: John Turnbull / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:

A robust angelshark densely covered in denticles, with a pattern of fine white spots withtout ocelli or black spots. Although the Eastern Angelshark has spines near the eyes, they are absent from the middle of the disk.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J., Squatina albipunctata in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2604

Eastern Angelshark, Squatina albipunctata Last & White 2008

More Info

Distribution	Eastern Australia from Cairns, Queensland, to Lakes Entrance, Victoria.
Features	Vertebrae 134-139. Body robust, strongly depressed anteriorly, firm; trunk similarly depressed, almost ray-like, deepest over abdomen, not tapering abruptly at pelvic-fin insertion; tail strongly depressed, even at origin of caudal fin. Abdomen moderately elongate. Head broad, extended laterally, strongly depressed; oval in cross-section. Pectoral fins very large, expanded, base very fleshy; pelvic fins large, elongate; dorsal fins similar in size and shape, somewhat upright, close together. Dermal denticles densely covering entire dorsal surface of body.
Biology	Grows to 130 cm total length (TL) with males maturing by 91 cm TL and females by about 107 cm TL; size at birth is about 27–30 cm TL.
Fisheries	Taken as bycatch in commercial trawl fisheries, and the species has been heavily fished in the southern half of its range.
Author	Bray, D.J.

Eastern Angelshark, Squatina albipunctata Last & White 2008

References

Compagno, L.J.V., Dando, M. & Fowler, S. 2005. A Field Guide to the Sharks of the World. London : Collins 368 pp.

Graham, K.J., Andrew, N.L. & Hodgson, K.E. 2001. Changes in the relative abundances of sharks and rays on Australian South East Fishery trawl grounds after twenty years of fishing. Marine and Freshwater Research 52: 549–561.

Kyne, P.M. 2008. Chondrichthyans and the Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery: bycatch reduction, biology, conservation status and sustainability. Ph.D. Thesis, The University of Queensland, Brisbane.

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls. [as Squatina sp A]

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp.

Last, P.R. & White, W.T. 2008. Three new angel sharks (Chondrichthyes: Squatinidae) from the Indo-Australian region. Zootaxa 1734: 1-26

Macbeth, W.G., Vandenberg, M. & Graham, K.J. 2008. Identifying Sharks and Rays; a Guide for Commercial Fishers. Sydney : New South Wales Department of Primary Industry 71 pp.

Pogonoski, J., Pollard, D.A. & Rigby, C.L. 2016. Squatina albipunctata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T42729A68645549. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T42729A68645549.en. Downloaded on 14 November 2016.

Raoult, V., Peddemors, V. & Williamson, J.E. 2016. Biology of angel sharks (Squatina sp.) and sawsharks (Pristiophorus sp.) caught in south-eastern Australian trawl fisheries and the New South Wales shark-meshing (bather-protection) program. Marine and Freshwater Research - http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MF15369