Velvet belly (Etmopterus spinax)

Scientific name: Etmopterus spinax Linnaeus, 1758

Velvet belly (Etmopterus spinax)

The Velvet belly (Etmopterus spinax) is a marine fish of the family Etmopteridae.

Biology

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.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Etmopterus spinax
Family
Etmopteridae (Lantern sharks)
Order
Squaliformes (Bramble, Sleeper and Dogfish sharks)
Class
Elasmobranchii (Sharks and Rays)
Maximum length
60.0
Common length
45.0
Depth range
2490 m (8169 ft)
Environment
Marine; bathydemersal; depth range ? - 2490 m, usually 200 - 500 m
Climate
Deep-water
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Iceland, Norway, and the western Mediterranean to Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, C?te d'Ivoire to Nigeria, Cameroon to Gabon, Azores, Cape Verde, and Cape Province, South Africa.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Resilience
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=6)

Sources

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

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