Centroscyllium fabricii (Reinhardt, 1825)
Black dogfish
photo by Román Marcote, E.

Family:  Etmopteridae (Lantern sharks)
Max. size:  107 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  bathydemersal; marine
Distribution:  Northwest Atlantic: South Baffin Island and Greenland to Virginia, USA and possibly the Gulf of Mexico. Eastern Atlantic: Iceland along Atlantic slope to Senegal; Guinea to Sierra Leone; Namibia to Quoin Point, South Africa (Ref. 5578). Southwest Atlantic: Uruguay to Argentina (Ref. 58839).
Diagnosis:  Adults uniformly blackish; fins of juveniles with white margins (Ref. 6577).
Biology:  Found on the outermost continental shelves and upper slopes, mostly below 275 m (Ref. 247). Epibenthic-pelagic (Ref. 58426). At high latitudes, may move up to the surface especially during the winter (Ref. 247). Bottom water temp. Are from 3.5 to 4.5°C, but sometimes down to 1°C. Segregation by sex and size as well as by movement into shallower water and by increase in school size is sometimes seen. Feeds on crustaceans, cephalopods, jellyfish and small fishes. Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205), with at least 14 pups in a litter (Ref. 247). Has luminescent organs in skin. May reach 107 cm.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 18 June 2019 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.