Species: Centrophorus squamosus, Leafscale Gulper Shark

Centrophorus squamosus (Bonnaterre, 1788)

Leafscale Gulper Shark

Body fusiform; snout short, thick flattened, broadly parabolic, length before mouth ~width of mouth; spiracles present, large, just behind eye; lip furrows short; top teeth straight to slightly oblique, triangular, with narrow points, lower teeth larger, broader, with oblique narrowly triangular tips; throat with numerous transverse creases; 5 gill slits, all before pectoral fin; two dorsal fins with short, robust, grooved spines, spine of second dorsal is slightly larger; 1st dorsal larger than 2nd, long and low, its origin over or just behind free rear tip of pectoral; 2nd dorsal at least as high as 1st, triangular, its base 2/3 base of 1st dorsal, its spine base over or behind inner free margin of pelvics; distance between origins of the 2 dorsal spines ~same as tip of snout to center of pectoral base in adults; free rear tips of pectorals almost square, not strongly extended, not reaching past origin of 1st dorsal spine; no anal fin; no ridges behind pelvic fins; tail base without keels; tail fin strongly asymmetrical, upper lobe with notch under tip, deep lower lobe, rear edge of fin straight to slightly concave in adults; skin denticles on flank of adults overlapping, large, on a stalk, crown flattened, leaflike, with serrated rear edge, those of juveniles like bristles & with 3 points.

Uniform dark grey, grey-brown or red-brown; eyes greenish.

Size: 164 cm.

Habitat: outer continental shelve and slopes near the bottom.

Depth:230-2400 m, shallower in colder waters.

Scattered tropical and temperate locations in all three oceans; near the Bahamas, Venezuela.