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Etmopterus spinax (Linnaeus, 1758)

Velvet belly
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Etmopterus spinax   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Etmopterus spinax (Velvet belly)
Etmopterus spinax
Picture by Salesjö, A.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Squaliformes (Sleeper and dogfish sharks) > Etmopteridae (Lantern sharks)
Etymology: Etmopterus: Greek, ethmos, -ou = sieve or ethmoides bone + Greek, pteron = wing, fin (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

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

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 70 - 2490 m (Ref. 106604), usually 200 - 500 m (Ref. 128537). Deep-water; 73°N - 38°S, 40°W - 36°E

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

Eastern Atlantic: Iceland, Norway, and the western Mediterranean to Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire to Nigeria, Cameroon to Gabon, Azores, Cape Verde, and Cape Province, South Africa (Ref. 247).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 34.5, range 33 - 36 cm
Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 247); common length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 247); max. published weight: 850.00 g (Ref. 40637)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on the outer continental shelves and upper slopes. Feeds on small fishes, squids, and crustaceans. Ovoviviparous, with number of young from 6 to 20 in a litter. Utilized for fishmeal and prepared dried salted for human consumption. Depth range reported at 70m-2000m in Ref. 35388.

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

Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | 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 2024-1)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd); Date assessed: 31 August 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
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Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Maturity/Gills rel.
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Distribution
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References

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Special reports

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 5.8 - 14.2, mean 9.2 °C (based on 392 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00339 (0.00284 - 0.00405), b=3.06 (3.01 - 3.11), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 6.9 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=6).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (63 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Low vulnerability (13 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 9.76 [1.96, 51.89] mg/100g; Iron = 0.36 [0.08, 1.19] mg/100g; Protein = 19.3 [16.7, 21.6] %; Omega3 = 0.351 [0.129, 1.142] g/100g; Selenium = 16 [5, 48] μg/100g; VitaminA = 15.4 [3.4, 70.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.312 [0.149, 0.618] mg/100g (wet weight);