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Squatina californica Ayres, 1859

Pacific angelshark
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Squatina californica   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Squatina californica (Pacific angelshark)
Squatina californica
Picture by Murch, A.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Squatiniformes (Angel sharks) > Squatinidae (Angel sharks)
Etymology: Squatina: Latin for skate, which angel sharks superficially resemble, presumably tautonymous with Squalus squatina Linnaeus 1758 (no species mentioned). (See ETYFish);  californica: -ica (L.), belonging to: California (USA), referring to type locality in San Francisco Bay. (See ETYFish).
More on author: Ayres.

Issue
It is sympatric with S. armata.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range 3 - 205 m (Ref. 9253), usually 3 - 46 m (Ref. 54903). Subtropical; 52°N - 7°N, 130°W - 77°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Pacific: Canada to Gulf of California, south to Panama.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 97.0, range 86 - 108 cm
Max length : 152 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 247); max. reported age: 35 years (Ref. 6147)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on the continental shelf and littoral areas (Ref. 247).A sluggish and inactive species that buries itself in sand or mud (Ref. 247). Also found around rocks, heads of submarine canyons, and sometimes near kelp forests (Ref. 247). Feeds on bottom and epibenthic fishes, including croakers, California halibut, and squid (Ref. 247). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Can whip up its head and snap very quickly when touched, provoked, harassed, or speared, and can inflict painful lacerations (Ref. 247).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Ovoviviparous, embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/1):1-249. Rome, FAO. (Ref. 247)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Near Threatened (NT) ; Date assessed: 03 December 2014

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic (Ref. 247)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
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Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 12.5 - 25.9, mean 21 °C (based on 60 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00676 (0.00293 - 0.01558), b=3.07 (2.88 - 3.26), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.15-0.16; tm=8-13; tmax=35; Fec=6).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (67 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 17.5 [3.6, 86.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.795 [0.206, 2.275] mg/100g; Protein = 19.9 [17.8, 21.8] %; Omega3 = 0.363 [0.162, 0.801] g/100g; Selenium = 26.5 [7.5, 76.0] μg/100g; VitaminA = 9.99 [3.53, 27.74] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.421 [0.203, 0.760] mg/100g (wet weight);