Abstract
The megamouth shark Megachasma pelagios (Lamniformes: Megachasmidae) was described in 1976 from a specimen caught off Hawaii (Taylor et al. 1983) and is the only extant member of its family and genus (Diez et al. 2022). From 1976 to 2010 M. pelagios was considered rare, with only 50 individuals recorded globally during that time (Nakaya 2010). In recent years it is apparent that it is more common and widespread than previously thought, with 273 confirmed records to date across 16 countries in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans (Yu et al. 2021; Diez et al. 2022; Skelton et al. 2023). This species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, as it is globally distributed and does not appear to be heavily impacted by fisheries (Kyne et al. 2019).
Subject
Animal Science and Zoology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Reference19 articles.
1. Barnett, R. (1997) The shark trade in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. In: Marshall, N.T. & Barnett, R. (Eds.), The trade in sharks and shark products in the Western Indian and Southeast Atlantic Oceans. TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa, Nairobi, pp. 39–66.
2. Bianchi, G. (1985) Field guide to the commercial marine and brackish water species of Tanzania. FAO Species Identification Sheets for Fishery Purposes. Project No. TCP/URT/4406, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 250 pp.
3. Braulik, G., Kasuga, M. & Majubwa, G. (2020) Local ecological knowledge demonstrates shifting baselines and the large-scale decline of sawfishes (Pristidae) in Tanzania. African Journal of Marine Science, 42 (1), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2020.1728379
4. Diez, G., Ruiz, J. & Salgado, A. (2022) Record of three specimens of megamouth sharks—Megachasma pelagios—in tropical tuna purse seine fisheries in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 102, 153–156. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315422000224
5. Ebert, D.A., Dando, M. & Fowler, S. (2021) Sharks of the World. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 608 pp. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691210872