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Taiwan angelshark

Fish

The Taiwan angelshark, Squatina formosa, is a ray like shark in the family Squatinidae, order Squatiniformes, described in 1972 and named for Formosa, the historic name for Taiwan. It has dorsally placed eyes and spiracles suited to its bottom dwelling life, a rounded head making up about twenty percent of its body length, tubercles between the mouth and eyes, small cone shaped teeth in three rows, large broad pectoral fins and spineless dorsal fins, growing up to 2 meters long; it is dark brown with black and white splotches on its back and a pale white belly marked with black, and reproduces ovoviviparously. It is endemic to the continental shelf waters off Taiwan between 20 and 24 degrees north, at depths of 100 to 300 meters, where it buries itself in sediment to ambush prey. The IUCN Red List classifies it as Endangered, citing suspected population declines of 50 to 80 percent within its limited range, driven mainly by bycatch in bottom trawling and compounded by slow maturation and low reproductive output. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Scientific Name
Squatina formosa 1
Conservation Status
Endangered 2
Classification
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Sources
1. Taiwan angelshark (Wikidata)
Wikidata
  • Wikidata Q28872 (P225 taxon name)
  • Statements section, conservation status (P141)
    IUCN Red List conservation status (Wikidata property P141): endangered.
View the Source
2. Taiwan angelshark (Wikipedia)
Conservation status (IUCN Red List category stated in entity description)
Quote, Conservation status (IUCN Red List category stated in entity description)
it buries itself in sediment to ambush prey. The IUCN Red List classifies it as Endangered, citing suspected population declines of 50 to 80 percent within its limited ra
View the Source
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