Greeneye spurdog facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Greeneye spurdog
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Order:	Squaliformes
Family:	Squalidae
Genus:	Squalus
Species:	S. chloroculus
Binomial name
Squalus chloroculus Last, White & Motomura, 2007
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The greeneye spurdog (Squalus chloroculus) is a fascinating type of dogfish shark. Scientists officially described this species in 2007. It belongs to the family called Squalidae. You can find these sharks living off the coast of southeastern Australia. The longest greeneye spurdog ever measured was about 85.6 centimeters (about 33.7 inches) long. For a while, people thought it was the same as another shark, the shortspine spurdog.

Discovering the Greeneye Spurdog

For a long time, scientists thought that the widely known shortspine spurdog (Squalus mitsukurii) was just one species. However, they later discovered that it was actually a group of different, but similar, species. In 2007, the sharks found in southern Australian waters were identified as a brand new species: Squalus chloroculus.

The very first specimen used to describe this new species was collected near Portland, Victoria, in 1998. The name chloroculus comes from two ancient words. Chloros is an Ancient Greek word meaning "green," and oculus is a Latin word meaning "eye." This name perfectly describes one of the shark's most noticeable features!

What Does the Greeneye Spurdog Look Like?

The greeneye spurdog is a strong, sturdy dogfish shark. It has a body shape that is smooth and tapers at both ends, like a torpedo. Its most striking feature is its bright green eyes. The shark's body is mostly grey.

Its underside is a lighter color. The chin and throat are a pale grey, which fades to a grey-white color along its belly and tail. The fins on its back (dorsal fins) are pale grey with black edges. Its side fins (pectoral and pelvic fins) are grey, but their back edges and undersides are lighter. The tail fin is mostly grey, with a dark spot near the notch.

Where Do Greeneye Spurdogs Live?

This shark lives in the waters off southern and eastern Australia. You can find it from Eucla in Western Australia all the way to Jervis Bay in New South Wales. It prefers to live on the upper and middle parts of the continental slope. This is the area where the land under the ocean slopes steeply down from the shallow continental shelf. Greeneye spurdogs live at depths ranging from 216 meters (about 708 feet) to 1,360 meters (about 4,460 feet) deep.

Unfortunately, the greeneye spurdog is one of four shark species that scientists are worried about. A report from 2021 said that their numbers are decreasing because of certain fishing methods. These sharks can get caught accidentally in large fishing nets (called demersal trawling) and on long fishing lines (automatic longline fishing). These fishing activities happen on the upper continental slope by large fishing fleets.