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First record of Warren's sixgill sawshark Pliotrema warreni (Pristiophoriformes: Pristiophoridae) and the West African catshark Scyliorhinus cervigoni (Carcharhiniformes: Scyliorhinidae) in Namibia, and notes on the habitat of the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2023

Ruth H. Leeney Open the ORCID record for Ruth H. Leeney [Opens in a new window] ,
David A. Ebert  and
Kolette Grobler
Ruth H. Leeney*
Affiliation:
Namibia's Rays and Sharks, Namibia Nature Foundation, Swakopmund, Namibia
David A. Ebert
Affiliation:
Pacific Shark Research Center, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Moss Landing, CA, USA South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Grahamstown, South Africa Department of Ichthyology, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA
Kolette Grobler
Affiliation:
Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Lüderitz Marine Research Centre, Lüderitz, Namibia
*
Corresponding author: Ruth H. Leeney; Email: ruth.leeney@gmail.com
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Abstract

Warren's sixgill sawshark, Pliotrema warreni, is confirmed for the first time in Namibian waters, from two specimens. One specimen was collected by fisheries observers on a vessel fishing in southern Namibian waters in March 2010. The other was found dead on a beach in central coastal Namibia, in August 2014. The West African catshark, Scyliorhinus cervigoni, is documented for the first time in northern Namibia, from a specimen recorded during surveys of chondrichthyan bycatch on a commercial bottom trawler. This extends the species' range southwards from Angola. Records of bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas are also documented, providing a better understanding of their distribution in Namibia. Several anglers have reported catching bull sharks in the Kunene River (from the riverbank on the Namibian side) and just south of the river mouth, along the Namibian coast.

Keywords

elasmobranchrange extensionsoutheast Atlantic
Type
Marine Record
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 103 , 2023 , e97
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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