Species: Oxynotus caribbaeus, Caribbean Roughshark
body: broad dark bar; head: 2 dark stripes

Oxynotus caribbaeus Cervigón, 1961
Caribbean Roughshark
Body strongly compressed, very high, with a triangular cross–section; abdomen with strong lateral ridges between pectoral and pelvic bases; head moderately broad and somewhat flattened; snout flattened; spiracles large to enormous, close behind eyes; five gill slits, very small, all before pectoral fin; mouth nearly transverse and very short and small, with thick, papillose lips; labial furrows elongated, entirely encircling mouth, and under posterior halves of eyes, elongated posteriorly into postoral grooves; upper & lower teeth different, upper teeth much smaller, with single narrow erect smooth cusp; lower teeth very few, highly compressed, serrated, broad and blade-like; skin denticles large, on stalks, with flattened, trident–like cusps, surface of skin extremely rough; dorsal fins very large, broad, angular, high, sail–like and often falcate, with strong stout spines nearly completely buried in the fins and with ungrooved exposed tips; 1st dorsal origin well forward over gill slits; 2nd dorsal smaller than first; pectoral fins high, narrow, pointed; pelvic fins smaller than pectoral fins and dorsal fins; anal fin absent; tail fin with ventral lobe weakly developed in adults, and with subterminal notch strong.
Pale grey above, paler below, with dark blotches on fins, a broad dark area on the body between the dorsal fins; head with two dark stripes: along top of snout and nape, and from mouth through eye to above base of pectoral fin.
Reaches 55 cm
Bottom living on soft and hard bottoms
Depth range 220-800 m
The Bahamas to Venezuela.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Offshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
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- Rocks
- Sand & gravel
- Mud
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef and soft bottom
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Bathydemersal
- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic worms
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Live birth
- No pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- GC endemic
- Island (s)
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Data deficient
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 55
- Depth Range Min
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- 220
- Depth Range Max
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- 800