| Blacktailed spurdog | |
|---|---|
 | |
| fromNew Caledonia | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Selachii |
| Order: | Squaliformes |
| Family: | Squalidae |
| Genus: | Squalus |
| Species: | S. melanurus |
| Binomial name | |
| Squalus melanurus Fourmanoir &Rivaton, 1979 | |
 | |
| Range of the blacktailed spurdog (in blue) | |
Theblacktailed spurdog (Squalus melanurus) is adogfish, a member of thefamilySqualidae, found aroundNew Caledonia in the centralPacific Ocean, at depths from 320 to 320 m. Its length is up to 75 cm.
Its reproduction isovoviviparous.
Theblacktailed spurdog has been seldom studied forparasites. The 1 mm-longmonogeneanTriloculotrema chisholmae has been described in 2009 from three specimens found in the nasal tissue of a single shark caught offNew Caledonia.[2]T. chisholmae was the second species described in thegenusTriloculotrema Kearn, 1993 (familyMonocotylidae).[3]Species ofTriloculotrema appear to be limited to deep-sea sharks, either triakids or squalids (possibly etmopterids).[2]
The blacktailed spurdog is also the host of external parasites such as the aegidisopodAega angustata on the skin.[4] Internal parasites include severaltrypanorhynchcestodes in thespiral intestine, such asVittirhynchus squali andGilquinia sp.[5]
