Kitefin shark
Dalatias licha
Valid name per FishBase; not independently confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes.
- English
- Kitefin shark
- Scientific
- Dalatias licha
- Dhivehi
- ކަށިނެތް މިޔަރުKashi neiy miyaru
- Group
- Sharks
- Maximum size
- Up to about 1.8 m (total length) (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives to 1.6 m, perhaps more
- Depth and habitat
- Deep-water, on or near the bottom, recorded from 37 to 1800 m (usually 300 to 600 m)
- IUCN status
- VU · VulnerableVulnerable (VU), assessed 2017
Description
A dark brown, blunt-snouted deep-water shark with thick lips, small upper teeth and large saw-edged lower teeth, reaching about 1.8 m. It glows faintly with bioluminescence and is the largest known luminous vertebrate. It bites chunks out of larger animals and also eats deep-sea fish and squid.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name kashi neiy miyaru (MRS 1997). Not on the FishBase Maldives checklist; MRS records it from a set of jaws taken by a fisherman at Esdhoo, Laamu Atoll. Sharks are fully protected in the Maldives (since 2010).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Dalatias-licha.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ކަށިނެތް_މިޔަރު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Dalatias_licha_csiro-nfc.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Kashi neiy miyaru' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ކަށިނެތް މިޔަރު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.