Smalltooth sand tiger (Odontaspis ferox)

Scientific name: Odontaspis ferox Risso, 1810

Smalltooth sand tiger (Odontaspis ferox)

The Smalltooth sand tiger (Odontaspis ferox) is a marine fish of the family Odontaspididae.

Biology

Found on or near the bottom of the continental and insular shelves and upper slopes; sometimes in shallow water. Tagging showed the species dives up to 2,000 m at Malpelo Island, Colombia. Feeds on small bony fishes, squids, and crustaceans. Uses its long body cavity and large, oily liver to regulate buoyancy. Ovoviviparous, embryos feeding on yolk sac and other ova produced by the mother. Not implicated in attacks on people. Flesh utilized for human consumption and liver for its high squalene content; utilization of fins, jaws and cartilage.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Odontaspis ferox
Family
Odontaspididae (Sand tigers)
Order
Lamniformes (Mackerel sharks)
Class
Elasmobranchii (Sharks and Rays)
Maximum length
410
Depth range
10–2000 m (33–6562 ft)
Environment
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 10 - 2000 m
Climate
Deep-water
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Gulf of Gascony, Madeira, Morocco, Mediterranean; also Cape Verde. Western Atlantic: Yucatan Shelf, Mexico, Brazil. Indo-West Pacific: off South Africa and Maldives, Madagascar, southern Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Expected to occur in the Western Central Pacific. Central Pacific: off Hawaii. Eastern Pacific: off southern California, USA and Baja California, Mexico.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Vulnerable (VU)(A2bd+4bd)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial
Resilience
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec assumed to be

Sources

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

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