Squalus longispinis, a new species of spurdog (Elasmobranchii: Squalidae) from La Réunion, southwestern Indian Ocean

Squalus longispinis, a new species of spurdog

Abstract

A new species of spurdog, Squalus longispinis n. sp. from La Réunion, is described on the basis of a single specimen collected with a longline at 1,000 m depth; another specimen was observed, but not collected, in the same area, at 900 m depth. The new species is diagnosed by the following characters: snout short, preorbital length 8.2% of total length (TL), prenarial length in inner nostril-narial furrow space 0.86; body very high, abdomen height 16.4% of TL, head height in trunk height 0.5; dorsal fin beginning on a vertical above posterior lobes of pectoral fin; second dorsal fin positioned in the middle between anal fin and caudal fin; first and second dorsal-fin spines long, first dorsal-fin spine 5.8% of TL, second-dorsal fin spine 5.3% of TL; flank denticles tricuspid; monospondylous vertebrae 37, precaudal vertebrae 86, caudal vertebrae 26, total vertebrae 112; upper caudal-fin lobe broad; caudal fin distally with a narrow, light grey margin. The new species is compared with other species in the genus. A key to the species of Squalus of the Indian Ocean is presented.