First reports of Megamouth Shark, Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983 (Lamniformes, Megachasmidae), in Peru

First reports of Megamouth Shark, Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983 (Lamniformes, Megachasmidae), in Peru

Megamouth Shark, Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983, is one of the least-known shark species worldwide. We report the encounters of four megamouth sharks: one caught in a driftnet off Piura (November 2016; sex indeterminate), one landed in Los Organos (July 2018; fem...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shaleyla Kelez, Rossana Maguiño Napuri, Alejandra Mendoza Pfennig, Oswaldo Caldas Martinez, Antonio Torres Carrasco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pensoft Publishers 2020-10-01
Series:Check List
Subjects:
bycatch
elasmobranchs
range extension
stranding
Online Access:https://checklist.pensoft.net/article/55612/download/pdf/
Description
Summary:Megamouth Shark, Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983, is one of the least-known shark species worldwide. We report the encounters of four megamouth sharks: one caught in a driftnet off Piura (November 2016; sex indeterminate), one landed in Los Organos (July 2018; female), one stranded in El Ñuro (July 2018; sex indeterminate, ca 300 m total length), and one caught in a purse seine off Lambayeque (June 2019; female, total length ca 300 cm). These are the first records from Peru and expand the species’ known southern limit by 415 km. With the addition of M. pelagios, there are 67 species of sharks in Peru.
ISSN:1809-127X

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