Sawback angelshark

Mature ~ 100.0–124 cm TL; Max ~ 188 cm TL.

Color: Are a dull grey to a light brown on back that has scarcely scattered with small irregular white spots and also with regular small dark brownish spots. No ocelli. Obtains dark blotches on head, back, the fin bases and tail. Body: Obtains large thorns atop its head in a row down its back. Has concave between eye, eye spiracle distance <1.5 x eye length. Has heavily fringed nasal barbels and including anterior nasal flaps.

Eastern Atlantic: western Mediterranean, Morocco, Senegal, Guinea to Nigeria, then Gabon to Angola. 43°N - 19°S, 18°W - 30°E.

Subtropical; offshore species, outer continental shelf and upper slope, demersal, marine. Usually found on muddy bottoms. 30–500 m (98–1,640 ft) down.

As with other angelsharks, the sawback angelshark is a bottom-dweller that tries to camouflage at the bottom of the ocean in order to ambush and capture its prey.

Diet: feeds on small sharks, bony fishes, cuttlefish, and crustaceans. Reproduction: are ovoviviparous.

IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered. Added to endangered species list in 2007 due to overexploitation.[3]

Sawback angelshark may be dangerous to humans if disturbed.

Low, minimum population doubling time: 4.5–14 years; high to very high vulnerability.

• Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). "Squatina aculeata" in FishBase. July 2006 version.
• Compagno, Dando, & Fowler, Sharks of the World, Princeton University Press, New Jersey 2005 ISBN 0-691-12072-2

• IUCN Redlist entry