Preprint volume - SIBM

Pre-print Volume –Posters
Topic 4: THE ELASMOBRANCHS
H. RACZ LORENZ, G. POLIZZI 1 , B. ZAVA 1 , F. FIORENTINO 2
South Arenal Grande 2082 - 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay.
1 Wilderness studi ambientali, Palermo, Italia.
2 CNR-IAMC Mazara del Vallo (TP), Italia.
fabio.fiorentino@iamc.cnr.it
NEW MAXIMUM LENGTHS
FOR THE STRIPED SMOOTH-HOUND
MUSTELUS FASCIATUS (GARMAN, 1913)
(CARCHARHINIFORMES, TRIAKIDAE)
NUOVE TAGLIE MASSIME
PER IL MUSTELUS FASCIATUS (GARMAN, 1913)
(CARCHARHINIFORMES, TRIAKIDAE)
Abstract – Two valuable specimens (a female of 177 cm total length and a male of 162 cm total length) of
the striped smooth-hound Mustelus fasciatus were caught by artisanal fisheries off Uruguay coasts in 2007
and 2009. These specimens reached the largest sizes of the species reported in literature.
Key-words: Triakidae, Mustelus fasciatus, maximum length, Uruguay, South Western Atlantic.
Introduction – The Striped smooth-hound Mustelus fasciatus (Garman, 1913) is a
shark endemic to a restricted area of the inner continental shelf (South Brazil to
Argentina) in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean. High fishing pressure on this species is
reported in the southern Brazil. In Uruguay M. fasciatus is sporadically caught by local
fisherman with gillnets and trawlers. This specie was described by Garman in 1913 on
the basis of juvenile individuals. The first adult specimen was collected in the
Uruguayan waters (Sadowsky, 1977), and later, a few adult specimens were sited from
Uruguay and the southern and northern coasts of State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
(Soto, 2001a). This note reports the largest specimens documented in literature.
Materials and methods – The two specimens reported in this note were identified
according to Compagno (1984). The first specimen, a female, was caught on October
15 th 2007, by trammel net of the fishing boat Lina Valeria III off S. E. Punta del
Diablo, Rocha, Uruguay (approximate coord. 34°10'S-53°16'W on sandy-muddy
bottom at 18 m depth (Fig.1a-c). This specimen is stored in a Belgian private
collection. The second shark, a male, was caught in Pozo de Fango off La Paloma,
Rocha, (approximate coord. 34°47’50S-53°48’50W) by a trammel net, on November
15 th 2009, at 70 m depth (Fig. 1d). This specimen will be taxidermies and stored in the
“Wilderness Studi Ambientali” collection in Palermo. Both specimens were measured
as total length (cm) and weighted as total weight (kg). Other biometries were taken
only in female.
Results – M. fasciatus female was 177 cm total length and 29,7 kg weight. Other
significant biometries were: Head (41 cm), Trunk (54 cm), Tail (82 cm), Caudal fin
length (36 cm), Second dorsal fin length (23 cm), Interdorsal space (52 cm), Pectoral
fin length (25 cm), Precaudal tail (47 cm), Precaudal height (5.5 cm), Dorsal fin base
(25 cm), Dorsal fin height (14 cm), Pectoral fin base (11 cm), Internasal distance (5.0
cm), Preoral length (12 cm), Mouth width (12 cm). More than 30 large yolk follicles
41 st S.I.B.M. CONGRESS Rapallo (GE), 7-11 June 2010
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