DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Spined pygmy shark
Squaliolus laticaudus
- Usual depth200–725 m
- Water temperature19–29 °C
- Best monthsMay and June
- How commonRare
About this species
The spined pygmy shark is a species of squaliform shark in the family Dalatiidae found widely in all oceans. Growing no larger than roughly 28 cm (11 in), it is one of the smallest sharks alive, with this record beaten by the dwarf lanternshark. This shark has a slender, cigar-shaped body with a sizable conical snout, a long but low second dorsal fin, and an almost symmetrical caudal fin. Its sister species S. aliae and it are the only sharks with a spine on the first dorsal fin and not the second. Spined pygmy sharks are dark brown to black, with numerous bioluminescent organs called photophores on their ventral surface. The shark is believed to use these photophores to match ambient light conditions, which break up its silhouette and help the shark to avoid being seen by predators below.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Spined pygmy shark”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 5 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 4 records
- April: 7 records
- May: 13 records
- June: 9 records
- July: 2 records
- August: 1 records
- September: 1 records
- October: 0 records
- November: 3 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 200–725 m · Deepest record: 2,000 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 19–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Spined pygmy shark, Big-eye Dwarf Shark, spined pigmy shark, spined pygmy shark
Names in 4 more languages
- German
- Zwergdornhai, Zwerghai
- Spanish
- tiburón enano, tiburón pigmeo, tollo pigmeo espinoso, Tollo Pigmeo Espinudo
- French
- Requin nain, Squale nain
- Japanese
- Omekobitozame, オオメコビトザメ
Other scientific names: Euprotomicrus laticaudus, Squaliolus sarmenti
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 76 open-data records from 1908 to 2013.
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