Scientific name Squalus melanurus Higher classification Spurdog | Phylum Chordata Genus Squalus Conservation status Least Concern Rank Species | |
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Similar Ornate dogfish, Western highfin spurdog, Bareskin dogfish, Longsnout dogfish, Combtooth lanternshark | ||
The blacktailed spurdog, Squalus melanurus, is a dogfish, a member of the family Squalidae, found around New Caledonia in the central Pacific Ocean, at depths from 320 to 320 m. Its length is up to 75 cm.
Its reproduction is ovoviviparous.
Parasites
The blacktailed spurdog has been seldom studied for parasites. The 1 mm-long monogenean Triloculotrema chisholmae has been described in 2009 from three specimens found in the nasal tissue of a single shark caught off New Caledonia. T. chisholmae was the second species described in the genus Triloculotrema Kearn, 1993 (family Monocotylidae). Species of Triloculotrema appear to be limited to deep-sea sharks, either triakids or squalids (possibly etmopterids).
The blacktailed spurdog is also the host of external parasites such as the aegiid isopod Aega angustata on the skin. Internal parasites include several trypanorhynch cestodes in the spiral intestine, such as Vittirhynchus squali and Gilquinia sp.