New record of the prickly shark Echinorhinus cookei (Pietschmann, 1928) and evidence of scavenging by the coyote Canis latrans (Say, 1823) in Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico

Abstract

Echinorhinus cookei is a rare, large, demersal, deep-sea species of shark inhabitant of the Pacific Ocean basin. A sub-adult female with a total length of 262.7 cm was found naturally stranded in 2021 at Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California, Central Gulf of California. It presents two spineless dorsal fins closer to the pelvic fins, large star-shaped dermal denticles, and distally oriented multi-cusplet cutting-type teeth. Along the shark, a peninsular coyote Canis latrans peninsulae was observed scavenging on the shark carcass. This study documents the first record of E. cookei in the Bahia de Los Angeles area and the first record of scavenging by the coyote C. latrans on any echinorhiniform shark to date.