What is the Indian Bramble Shark?
Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CMFRI) recently identified a new species of deep-sea shark commonly known as the Indian Bramble Shark from the Indian Ocean.
About Indian Bramble Shark:
- It is a new species of deep-sea shark discovered from the Indian Ocean.
- Scientific Name: Echinorhinus roinee
- The specimens were collected from Sakthikulangara Fishing Harbour in the Kollam district of Kerala, where they were landed as bycatch by deep-sea shrimp trawlers.
- It inhabits continental slope waters at depths ranging from 350 to 450 metres and can grow up to three metres in length.
- It was earlier misidentified for several decades as the Atlantic bramble shark (Echinorhinus brucus).
- It can be distinguished from its closely related counterparts like the Atlantic bramble shark and Pacific prickly shark (Echinorhinus cookei) by its relatively larger eyes, larger pelvic fins, and longer snout-to-gill region.
- It has a dark brown to blackish body covered with prominent thorn-like dermal denticles, which fuse into multi-pointed plates as the shark matures.
Source: Indian Scientists Discover New Deep-Sea Shark Species in the Indian Ocean