Squatina squatina

This article is about the type of shark sometimes called monkfish. For other fish called monkfish, see Monkfish (disambiguation).
This article is about the species. For the genus, see angelshark.

Angelshark
An angelshark, a fish with a flattened body and mottled skin, swims just above the sea floor
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Squatiniformes
Family: Squatinidae
Genus: Squatina
Species:
S. squatina
Binomial name
Squatina squatina
World map with blue outlines on the coastlines of southern Scandinavia, northern Europe, Britain and Ireland, the Iberian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, and northwest Africa as far as the Canary Isles
Former range of the angelshark
Synonyms

Squalraia acephala* de la Pylaie, 1835
Squalraia cervicata* de la Pylaie, 1835
Squalus squatina Linnaeus, 1758
Squatina angelus Blainville, 1825
Squatina angelus Gronow, 1854
Squatina europaea Swainson, 1839
Squatina laevis Cuvier, 1816
Squatina lewis Couch, 1825
Squatina vulgaris Risso, 1810

* ambiguous synonym

Squatina squatina, the angelshark or monkfish, is a species of shark in the family Squatinidae (known generally also as angel sharks), that were once widespread in the coastal waters of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Well-adapted for camouflaging itself on the sea floor, the angelshark has a flattened form with enlarged pectoral and pelvic fins, giving it a superficial resemblance to a ray. This species can be identified by its broad and stout body, conical barbels, thornless back (in larger individuals), and grayish or brownish dorsal coloration with a pattern of numerous small light and dark markings (that is more vivid in juveniles). It measures up to 2.4 m (7.9 ft) long.

Like other members of its family, the angelshark is a nocturnal ambush predator that buries itself in sediment and waits for passing prey, mostly benthic bony fishes, but also skates and invertebrates. An aplacental viviparous species, females bear litters of seven to 25 pups every other year. The angelshark normally poses little danger to humans, though if provoked, it is quick to bite. Since the mid-20th century, intense commercial fishing across the angelshark's range has decimated its population via bycatch – it is now locally extinct or nearly so across most of its northern range, and the prospects of the remaining fragmented subpopulations are made more precarious by its slow rate of reproduction. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed this species as Critically Endangered.

  1. ^ Morey, G.; Barker, J.; Hood, A.; Gordon, C.; Bartolí, A.; Meyers, E.K.M.; Ellis, J.; Sharp, R.; Jimenez-Alvarado, D.; Pollom, R. (2019). "Squatina squatina". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T39332A117498371. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T39332A117498371.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.