Kitefin shark  (Dalatias licha)

Description

A moderately sized shark with a short, blunt snout, the kitefin shark has two small, spineless dorsal fins, an asymmetrical caudal fin, with a well-developed notch near the tip, and no anal fin. The body is uniformly dark brown, greyish black or violet brown, often with poorly defined black spots on the upper surface, while the rounded fins have white or translucent edges, and the tail is tipped with black (2) (3) (4) (5). The ‘lips’ are thick and may be pale in colour, and the jaws are heavy, compact, and very powerful (2) (3) (5). The teeth of the kitefin shark differ greatly between the upper and lower jaws, being small, narrow and pointed in the upper jaw, and large, bladelike and serrated in the lower jaw (2) (3) (6). This species can sometimes be confused with the Portuguese shark, Centroscymnus coelolepis, but can be distinguished by the lack of spines on the dorsal fins (2).

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