Longnose velvet dogfish (Centroscymnus crepidater)

Scientific name: Centroscymnus crepidater Barbosa du Bocage & de Brito Capello, 1864

The Longnose velvet dogfish (Centroscymnus crepidater) is a marine fish of the family Somniosidae.

Biology

A fairly common species found on continental and insular slopes, on or near the bottom. Feeds mainly on fish and cephalopods. Ovoviviparous, with 4-8 young in a litter, born at 28-35 cm. The flesh is high in mercury; utilized as fishmeal and source of squalene.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Centroscymnus crepidater
Family: Somniosidae (Sleeper sharks)
Order: Squaliformes (Bramble, Sleeper and Dogfish sharks)
Class: Elasmobranchii (Sharks and Rays)
Maximum length: 130
Depth range: 230–1500 m (755–4921 ft)
Environment: Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 230 - 1500 m
Climate: Deep-water
Distribution: Eastern Atlantic: Iceland, Faeroe Islands along Atlantic slope to Portugal, Senegal, Madeira, Gabon to Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia. Indian Ocean: Aldabra and the Travancore coast of India. Western Pacific: New South Wales, Australia and New Zealand. Southeast Pacific: northern Chile.
Conservation status (IUCN): Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans: Poisonous to eat
Uses: Fisheries: minor commercial
Resilience: Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=4-8, tmax=54, tm=9-15)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Last updated 27 September 2026