Biological observations on the gulper shark Centrophorus granulosus (Chondrichthyes: Centrophoridae) off the coast of Galicia (north-western Spain, eastern Atlantic)

Abstract

The observed Centrophorus granulosus were caught with bottom trawl and longline between 500 and 1300 m depth off the continental slope of Galicia and the Galician Bank (north-eastern Atlantic) between 1996 and 1998. The main biological data obtained were: a maximum recorded size of 166 cm TL (total length); females mature at 147 cm TL; between 1 and 10 mature oocytes by females of 55–80 mm diameter and as many as 6 pups per litter, and size at birth ranging between 35–47 cm TL. These results differ greatly from those compiled in the literature suggesting different populations or perhaps a possible misidentification.