Galeus priapus (lat.) - A species of the genus Sawtails , a family of cat sharks (Scyliorhinidae). It lives off the coast of New Calendonia and Vanuatu . Maximum size 46 cm.
| Galeus priapus |
| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
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| International scientific name |
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Galeus priapus ( SΓ©ret & Last , 2008) |
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Content
The first samples of the Galeus priapus were obtained in the 1990s, during a series of research expeditions conducted in the Indian and Pacific Oceans by the Development Research Institute in conjunction with the National Museum of Natural History . Bernard Sere and Peter Lust described the new species in 2008 in the issue of the science journal Zootaxa . The species epithet is given in honor of Priapus , the Greek god of fertility, which is associated with very long pterygopodia in males. The type specimen was a sexually mature male 39 cm long, caught off the coast of New Caledonia on March 30, 1994. Within the genus of sawtails, this species most closely resembles Galeus gracilis [1] .
Galeus priapus is a bottom species that lives on the slopes of seamounts and underwater ridges off the coast of New Caledonia between the islands of Luayote and Norfolk Ridge at a depth of 620β830 m and off the island of Espiritu Santo , Vanuatu, at a depth of 262β352 m. [1 ]
The maximum length is 43 cm [1] . Galeus priapus has a long head. Small oval eyes are elongated horizontally and are located high on the head. They are equipped with a rudimentary third century , behind the eyes there are tiny spiracles . There are small protrusions under the eyes. The nostrils are divided by triangular skin folds. The large mouth is curved in the form of a wide arch, deep grooves are located in the corners. Each jaw has 60 teeth. Each tooth is equipped with a central tip and 1-2 small lateral teeth. There are five pairs of gill slits [1] .
The base of the first dorsal fin is located above the second half of the ventral fins. The base of the second dorsal fin is located above the middle of the base of the anal fin. The first dorsal fin is larger than the second. The pectoral fins are large, with rounded ends. The ventral fins are small and fairly wide. Males have very long pterygopodia, which make up 10-12% of the total body length. The anal fin is small, the length of its base is 8-10% of the total body length. The caudal fin is long with a small lower lobe and a ventral notch near the tip of the upper lobe. The body is covered with small, overlapping placoid scales , each of which has the shape of a crown with a horizontal ridge and three marginal denticles. On the front of the dorsal margin of the caudal fin there is a characteristic sawtooth crest formed by large scales. The color of different shades of gray. On the front half of each dorsal fin there is a dark saddle spot, two such spots are on the tail. The anterior margins of the pectoral fins are black. The posterior margins of the dorsal and anal fins are whitish. The belly is light, without marks. The palate is black, and the rest of the inner surface of the mouth is painted white [1] .
Males reach puberty with a length of 39 cm [1] .