First Record of a Sleeper Shark in the Western Gulf of Mexico and Comments on Taxonomic Uncertainty Within Somniosus (Somniosus)

Authors

George W. Benz, Middle Tennessee State UniversityFollow
Eric R. Hoffmayer, University of Southern MississippiFollow
William B. Driggers, Mississippi LaboratoriesFollow
Dan Allen, Chevron Gulf of Mexico Business Unit
Lougan E. Bishop, Middle Tennessee State University
David A. Brown, Shell EP Europe

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2007

Department

Coastal Sciences, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory

Abstract

A sleeper shark, Somniosus (Somniosus) sp., is reported from Alaminos Canyon in the western Gulf of Mexico at a depth of about 2647 m based on observations made using a remotely operated vehicle. This is the first record of a sleeper shark (Somniosus, Somniosidae) from the western Gulf of Mexico and deepest record of any shark from the Gulf of Mexico. Despite claims to the contrary in the literature, no taxonomic character has been identified to date that can be used to unequivocally identify all representatives of Somniosus (Somniosus), and as a result, some species records must be considered dubious.

Publication Title

Bulletin of Marine Science

Volume

80

Issue

2

First Page

343

Last Page

351

Recommended Citation

Benz, G. W., Hoffmayer, E. R., Driggers, W. B., Allen, D., Bishop, L. E., Brown, D. A. (2007). First Record of a Sleeper Shark in the Western Gulf of Mexico and Comments on Taxonomic Uncertainty Within Somniosus (Somniosus). Bulletin of Marine Science, 80(2), 343-351.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/2058