Sparky has jumped
times
since May 1, 1998.
Good job, Sparky!
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Prickly Shark
Tiburón Espinozo Negro
(Echinorhinus cookei)
Prickly Shark, Echinorhinus cookei: The Prickly Shark is quite rare and seldom seen and is a member of the two-component Eschinorhinidae family of Bramble Sharks which are known in Mexico as tiburónes espoinosos. The Prickly Shark is a Pacific Ocean only species, while the other member of the family is an Atlantic Ocean species, the Bramble Shark, Echinorhinus brucus.
They are so named because the skin is covered with denticles (small sandpaper like bumps utilized by sharks to wound prey).
This fish species has a robust cylindrical body with a flattened head that is a uniform gray-white in color. It is easy to identify due to two unique very small equal sized closely spaced dorsal fins that are very far back in the body (as pictured below).
The Prickly Shark has short blunt fins with the large pelvic fins being near the tail. It does not have an anal fin. It has five gill slits, all of which originate before the pectoral fins, of which the last one is the longest. The tail is very asymmetrical with a poorly developed lower lobe.
The body s covered with angular denticles. Due to the above this species cannot be easily confused with other species. The Prickly Shark reaches 13 feet in length and is demersal (a bottom dweller) being found between 30 and 3,300 feet deep in the water column.
Distribution in Mexico fishing areas
In Mexican fishing waters , the Prickly Shark is found along the Pacific coast of the Baja California peninsula, in the lower one-third of the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of mainland Mexico south to Acapulco. This species is a fairly recently discovery being first reported in 1928.
Prickly Shark, Echinorhinus cookei: Caught while fishing outside the breakwater, La Playita, San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, in April 2008, water temperature 74-degrees, by a local panguero fisherman. End product of gorilla warfare between the above and a 20 to 24-foot Elephant Seal. The seal abandoned the shark as the panguero approached allowing it to be gaffed. Size about 48 inches. Photo and catch information courtesy of Eric Brictson. Description courtesy of John Snow. Identification reconfirmed by H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif.
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