White-bodied catshark
Species of shark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The white-bodied catshark (Apristurus albisoma) is a catshark of the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks.
| White-bodied catshark | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Selachii |
| Order: | Carcharhiniformes |
| Family: | Pentanchidae |
| Genus: | Apristurus |
| Species: | A. albisoma |
| Binomial name | |
| Apristurus albisoma | |
 | |
Description
This shark is coloured whitish to light grey.[2]
Distribution
This species is found in the western Pacific.[3] The area of occupancy of this small benthic endemic shark was presumed very limited (less than 2,000 km²), being restricted to a narrow depth band on insular and seamount slopes near New Caledonia.[2] However, this species has been collected in waters of the north of New Zealand on the West Norfolk Ridge.[2]
Conservation status
Although this species has been classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as of least concern, there is a worry that it may be taken as un-utilised bycatch by deepwater trawl fisheries and that, like other deepwater species, it may not be sufficiently fecund to withstand exploitation pressure by these fisheries.[1] The New Zealand Department of Conservation has classified the white-bodied catshark as "Data deficient" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[4]
