Abstract
Elasmobranchs present four clasper movements, which can be seen in different contexts from mating to no obvious reason. Three movements have been reported in Carcharias taurus and here the first occurrence of clasper flaring in this species is described. Clasper flaring was observed while other species were in a reproductive state and their aggressive behaviour towards the subject of this study was also observed.
Highlights
Elasmobranchs have an external structure used to copulate, known as a clasper
We observed two clasper movements: clasper crossing (CC) and clasper flaring (CF)
Clasper crossing was observed on four nights, counting a total of seven occurrences in this work, while clasper flaring was observed on six days, adding up to seven occurrences (Table 1)
Summary
Elasmobranchs have an external structure used to copulate, known as a clasper. This structure has the ability of movement by itself in order to facilitate copulation (Gilbert & Heath 1972). The clasper skeleton is constituted of the clasper shaft on the anterior region and the clasper glans on the posterior part. This second region presents a structure called a clasper hook, which helps the male to anchor itself to the female during copulation (Gilbert & Heath 1972; Compagno 2001).
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