First genetically confirmed records of the little gulper shark Centrophorusuyato (Squaliformes: Centrophoridae) from Cypriot waters.

Vasiliki Kousteni,Louis Hadjioannou,Ioannis Thasitis,Marios Papageorgiou,Michail Rovatsos

doi:10.3897/bdj.9.e71837

Abstract

The taxonomy within the genus Centrophorus has been controversial almost since its origin, raising uncertainties about the identification, the phylogenetic placement and the geographical distribution of several species. The partial nucleotide sequences of two mitochondrial DNA gene regions, the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and the 16S ribosomal RNA, genetically confirmed the presence of the little gulper shark in Cypriot waters. The species presence in the Mediterranean Sea is revised and discussed.

Highlights

The family Centrophoridae Bleeker, 1859 (Chondrichthyes: Squaliformes) comprises two genera: Centrophorus Müller & Henle, 1837 and Deania Jordan & Snyder, 1902, known as gulper sharks, a group of small to medium-sized benthopelagic species that occur worldwide along the outer continental shelves and upper continental and insular slopes (Compagno 1984, Ebert and Winton 2010, Kyne and Simpfendorfer 2010)
Recent molecular and morphometric studies (White et al 2013, Veríssimo et al 2014) supported the presence of a unique mitochondrial DNA clade and a morphologically-distinct taxon in the Mediterranean Sea, corresponding to the small-sized species of Centrophorus, which erroneously was often identified as C. granulosus
C. uyato (Rafinesque, 1810) has commonly been used in the scientific literature creating historically a nomenclatural confusion, because the original description of Rafinesque's S. uyato is based on an undetermined species of Squalus and, should not be used in taxonomic assignments of species of Centrophorus (White et al 2013)

Summary

Introduction

The family Centrophoridae Bleeker, 1859 (Chondrichthyes: Squaliformes) comprises two genera: Centrophorus Müller & Henle, 1837 and Deania Jordan & Snyder, 1902, known as gulper sharks, a group of small to medium-sized benthopelagic species that occur worldwide along the outer continental shelves and upper continental and insular slopes (Compagno 1984, Ebert and Winton 2010, Kyne and Simpfendorfer 2010). Recent molecular and morphometric studies (White et al 2013, Veríssimo et al 2014) supported the presence of a unique mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) clade and a morphologically-distinct taxon in the Mediterranean Sea, corresponding to the small-sized species of Centrophorus, which erroneously was often identified as C. granulosus.

Results

Conclusion