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WHAT IS ELASMODIVER? Not just a huge collection of Shark Pictures: Elasmodiver.com contains images of sharks, skates, rays, and a few chimaera's from around the world. Elasmodiver began as a simple web based shark field guide to help divers find the best places to encounter the different species of sharks and rays that live in shallow water but it has slowly evolved into a much larger project containing information on all aspects of shark diving and shark photography. There are now more than 10,000 shark pictures and sections on shark evolution, biology, and conservation. There is a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly updated shark taxonomy page, a monster list of shark links, and deeper in the site there are numerous articles and stories about shark encounters. Elasmodiver is now so difficult to check for updates, that new information and pictures are listed on an Elasmodiver Updates Page that can be accessed here:
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TAIWAN GULPER SHARK |
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View all available Taiwan Gulper Shark Pictures in the Shark Picture Database Taiwan Gulper Shark, Gulper Shark. Latin Name: Centrophorus niaukang Family: Centrophoridae Identification: grey to olive brown body with very little mottling. Ventral surface marginally lighter than dorsal surface. Skin quite smooth and covered in mucus. Head and snout vertically depressed. First dorsal fin length at least twice height with long free rear tip. Dorsal fins slightly dusky on leading edges. Dorsal fin spines dark. Fin spine lengths are about 1/3rd length of leading edge of dorsal fin. No white margins on posterior edges of dorsal and caudal fins. Upper caudal lobe deeply notched. Lower caudal lobe moderately long but very weakly defined (no posterior caudal notch). Eyes very large and green with black rims. Size: Maximum length 160cm male, 145cm female. size at birth 30-42cm. Habitat: Continental shelves and slopes from 50-1440m but rarely shallower than 200m. In the Bahamas, gulper sharks are more frequently caught around monumentation than on flat substrate. Abundance and distribution: A wide ranging species. Eastern Atlantic - France to West and possibly South Africa (including the Mediterranean Sea). Western Atlantic - Gulf of Mexico to northern South America. Indian Ocean - Madagascar, Sudan and Western Australia. And Western Pacific south of Japan. Not recorded in the Eastern Pacific. IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened. Believed to have the lowest reproductive potential of all elasmobranch species; its reproductive biology is characterized by a late onset of maturity (12 to 16 years in females), only one pup per litter and a two-year gestation period with occasional resting periods. This makes it extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and population depletion. Despite a lack of data for certain regions within its geographic range, this species is globally assessed as Vulnerable on the basis of its limiting life history traits and the global increase in unmanaged fishing effort to exploit deeper waters. Heavily fished and caught as bycatch in the Northeast Atlantic, the Northwest Pacific and other regions. Targeted for liver oil and meat. Behavior: Not known. Diet: small bony fishes, squid and crustaceans. Reproduction: Ovoviviparous. One pup per litter. Gestation period 2 years with resting periods inbetween. Maturity probably occurs around 60-80cm. Observations: Mortality among captured specimens is high suggesting that Taiwan gulper sharks do not respond well to temperature changes and stress. Photographs: Cape Eleuthera, Bahamas. Images captured during a deep shark survey conducted by Edd Brooks of the Cape Eleuthera Institute. Similar species: Because the Taiwan Gulper Shark is a broad ranging species, it overlaps with many other species of gulpers. In the Bahamas it is found with common gulper sharks which are thicker bodied and have a less depressed head and a more distinct caudal posterior notch. Reaction to divers: Not encountered by divers. Diving logistics: Not applicable. References:
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