Taiwan spurdog

The Taiwan spurdog (Squalus formosus) is a species of shark in the genus Squalus. It was accidentally found in Taiwan's Tashi fish market by William Toby White and a colleague of the CSIRO in Hobart, Australia. They named it S. formosus ("Formosa" being a former name for Taiwan). It has also be recorded from the coast of Japan.[1][2]

Taiwan spurdog
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Squaliformes
Family: Squalidae
Genus: Squalus
Species:
S. formosus
Binomial name
Squalus formosus
W. T. White & Iglésias, 2011

Sharks now identified as Squalus formosus had earlier been classified as Squalus blainville, a species that is no longer considered to occur in Taiwan. Squalus formosus can be morphologically separated from other three Squalus species found in Taiwanese waters (which are S. brevirostris, S. japonicus and S. mitsukurii); it is morphologically more similar to Squalus albifrons from eastern Australia than the other Taiwanese species. Similarly, genetic methods identify S. albifrons as the closest relative of S. formosus.[1]

It is a medium-sized species of Squalus that can reach at least 81 cm (32 in) TL.[1][2]

References
  1. White, W.T. & Iglésias, S.P. (2011). "Squalus formosus, a new species of spurdog shark (Squaliformes: Squalidae), from the western North Pacific Ocean". Journal of Fish Biology. 79: 954–968. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03068.x.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Squalus formosus" in FishBase. August 2014 version.
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