Squatina occulta is a species of genus flat-bodied sharks of the same family of the squat-like order. These sharks are found in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean . The maximum recorded length is 120 cm. They have a flattened head and body, outwardly they look like slopes, but unlike the last gills of the squatters are located on the sides of the body and the mouth is in front of the snout, and not on the ventral surface. These sharks breed by egg-laying . Not of interest to commercial fishing [1] .
| Squatina occulta |
| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Squad: | Squatiformes ( Squatiniformes Buen , 1926 ) |
| Family: | Squatine ( Squatinidae Bonaparte , 1838 ) |
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| International scientific name |
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Squatina occulta Vooren & da Silva , 1992 |
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The species was first scientifically described in 1992 [2] . The holotype is an adult female 122 cm long, caught on the Rio Grande do Sul continental shelf ( ). Paratypes: 2 immature males 90.3 cm and 97.5 cm long, caught there [3] . Species epithet comes from the word lat. occulta is “hidden” and is associated with the fact that the identification of this species is still not clear, given the existence of a group of morphologically similar sympatric species of squatin living in this region.
There are contradictions regarding the taxonomy and nomenclature of flat-skinned sharks that live off the southern coast of Brazil . In some sources, Squatina punctata and Squatina guggenheim were synonymous [2] . In the list of sharks that live in the waters of Brazil [4] , it is noted that the presence of Squatina guggenheim in this region is actually related to Squatina punctata , and the description of Squatina occulta [2] refers to the description of Squatina guggenheim made in 1936 [5] , however no argument was given in favor of these statements. [6] Based on studies of mitochondrial DNA , an assumption was made about the presence of three species of squat-like in the waters of southern Brazil: Argentinean squatine , Squatina guggenheim and Squatina occulta [7] .
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| Squatina dumeril |
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| Squatina californica |
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| Squatina occulta |
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| Squatina guggenheim |
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| Squatina armata |
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| Phylogenetic relationships of American squatins [8] |
In gratitude for the results obtained, the experts of the Shark Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature prepared an assessment of all species of squat nominally living in the southwest Atlantic: Argentinean squat, Squatina guggenheim , Squatina occulta and Squatina punctata [6] .
Squatina occulta live in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean from the coast of Espiritu Santo , Brazil , to the south of Uruguay [1] .
These sharks have a rather slender, flattened body and wide pterygo-shaped pectoral and ventral fins characteristic of squatina. Small dorsal fins are approximately equal in shape and size and are shifted back to the tail. The dorsal surface is evenly brownish in color with numerous white-yellow small spots surrounded by dark marks that form “eyes” [1] .