Squatina squatina, Angelshark : fisheries, gamefish

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Squatina squatina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Angelshark
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Squatina squatina   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Squatina squatina (Angelshark)
Squatina squatina
Picture by Hernández-González, C.L.

Common names from other countries

Ange de mer commun, Angelote, Скватина европейская (=морской ангел), ... more

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); squatina: Latin for skate, which angel sharks superficially resemble (See ETYFish).
More on author: Linnaeus.

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

Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 5 - 150 m (Ref. 247). Temperate; 63°N - 21°N, 19°W - 42°E

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

Northeast Atlantic: southern Norway, Sweden and Shetland Islands to Morocco and West Sahara, including the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (Ref. 247). Range and abundance declining 1severely throughout its range; proposed legal protection in Britain (Ref.58085). The European Council Regulations 43/2009, 23/2010, 57/2011, 44/2012, 40/2013, 43/2014, 2015/104 and 2016/72 prohibit to fish for, to retain on board, to tranship and to land the S. squatina in all waters from the European Community (F. Osaer, pers.comm. 04/2016).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 147.5, range 102 - 169 cm
Max length : 183 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 247); 244.0 cm TL (female); common length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. ); max. published weight: 80.0 kg (Ref. 35388)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0. Broad flattened body, with enlarged pectoral and pelvic fins, no anal fin. Eyes and large spiracles dorsally. Gill openings at the sides of the head. The mouth is terminal. Coloration variable, from grey to reddish or greenish-brown with scattered small white spots and blackish dots dorsally (Ref. 78469). No ocelli on body (Ref. 247).
Body shape (shape guide): other.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A benthic species that occurs inshore, on coasts and along the continental shelf; may enter estuaries (Ref. 247, 58085). Found mainly on sand or mud bottoms; sluggish by day, lying buried with eyes protruding. Also utilizes areas with macroalgae, kelp or rocks (Ref. 88920). Nocturnal species, swims off bottom at night. Feeds mainly on flatfishes and other benthic fishes, but also on skates, crustaceans and molluscs, with one record of swallowed cormorant (Ref. 247, 28070). Moves to deeper waters during winter, returning to the shallower depths in the spring (Ref. 88187), moving northwards in summer. Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449, 107715). Females generally grow larger than males (Ref. 58137, 107710, 107713, 107715). Detects weak electric fields generated by other organisms (e.g. potential prey) (Ref. 10311). The marine leech Stibarobdella macrothela is a common parasite (Ref. 107712) and the isopod Aegapheles deshaysiana a common micropredator (Ref. 107714) for this shark species in the Canary Islands. Utilized fresh and dried salted for human consumption, and possibly for oil and fishmeal (Ref. 247). Reaches 250 cm (Ref. 35388).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Ovoviviparous, produce 7-25 pups/litter (Ref. 58085), 13.0 +/- 1.9 pups in the Canary Is (Ref. 107713) with litter number increasing with female size. Gestation period lasts for 8-10 months (born Dec-Feb in Mediterranean, July in England) (Ref. 58085), and +/- 6 months in the Canary Is (Ref. 107713). Size at birth ranges from 24-30 cm TL (Ref. 58085). Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). Full term embryos weighed 189-200 g; no egg capsules found around ova or embryos (Ref. 107715). A biannual reproductive cycle is likely the case for this species (Ref. 32746), triannual cycle in the Canary Is (Ref. 107713).

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: Version 2025-1)

  Critically Endangered (CR) (A2bcd); Date assessed: 12 July 2017

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Appendix I & II: Endangered migratory species conserved through agreements

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic





Human uses

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

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 7.7 - 19.4, mean 11.4 °C (based on 854 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00832 (0.00428 - 0.01615), b=3.05 (2.87 - 3.23), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.5 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec=9-20).
Prior r = 0.27, 95% CL = 0.18 - 0.41, Based on 1 data-limited stock assessment.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 3.58 [0.60, 65.38] mg/100g; Iron = 0.23 [0.02, 2.63] mg/100g; Protein = 18.2 [16.1, 20.5] %; Omega3 = 0.464 [0.160, 1.307] g/100g; Selenium = 12.7 [2.6, 61.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 6.41 [0.58, 72.79] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.324 [0.023, 3.530] mg/100g (wet weight);