kids encyclopedia robot

Roughskin dogfish facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Roughskin dogfish
Centroscymnus owstoni (Roughskin dogfish).gif
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Genus:
Centroscymnus
Species:
owstonii
Centroscymnus owstoni distmap.png
Range of the roughskin dogfish (in blue)
Synonyms

Centroscymnus cryptacanthus Regan, 1906

The roughskin dogfish (Centroscymnus owstonii) is a sleeper shark of the family Somniosidae, found around the world on continental shelves in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas, at depths of between 100 and 1,500 m. It reaches a length of 121 cm.

This species is distributed in deep-sea communities throughout the western and eastern Indian Ocean as well as in the south-central Atlantic Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean (Tasmania).

Conservation status

The New Zealand Department of Conservation has classified the roughskin dogfish as "Not Threatened" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.

Ecosystem

Centroscymnus owstonii holds importance in its ecosystem as a predator and component of the upper slope assemblage, as it maintains an ecological balance in deep-sea communities. Particularly, in the depth range of 750–2050 meters, it contributes substantially (>60%) to the biomass and assemblage similarity.

Diet

As a top predator, the prey of C. owstonii consists mainly of fishes, with small proportions of crustaceans, squid and salps. The fish prey were predominantly hoki, with some mesopelagic sea bream (B. australis and B. brama), slender tuna (Allothunnus fallai), and a demersal rattail (Coelorinchus bollonsi).

kids search engine
Roughskin dogfish Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.