Posted by: Loren Coleman on September 6th, 2007 Mark Clarke over
at Practical Fishkeeling is noting there’s been a “new Mandarin
shark discovered,” and named from south eastern Australia.
William White, Peter Last and John Stevens of Australia’s CSIRO
Marine and Atmospheric Research named the new species
Cirrhigaleus australis in an announcement paper in the newest
issue of the journal Zootaxa. Clarke writes, “Cirrhigaleus
australis is a member of the Mandarin dogfish group of squalid
sharks which typically reach lengths of just a metre or so….The
new species is believed to occur in temperate waters off eastern
Australia and its range may extend as far as New Zealand. The
characteristic long nasal lobes, or barbels, on Cirrhigaleus
give the fishes their common name of Mandarin sharks. They are
found at depths from 146-640m and reach a length of around
1.25m.” Clarke’s original source: White WT, Last PR and JD
Stevens (2007) – Cirrhigaleus australis n. sp., a new Mandarin
dogfish (Squaliformes: Squalidae) from