First record of the kitefin shark, Dalatias licha (Bonnaterre, 1788) from the Guatemalan Caribbean Sea
Author
Sánchez-Jiménez, Julio
Ayala-Donado, Josué
Rosales Melgar, María de los Ángeles
Areano-Barillas, Elisa M.
Kasana, Devanshi
González-Jaramillo, Mónica
Pérez-Jiménez, Juan Carlos
Full text
https://www.lajar.cl/index.php/rlajar/article/view/vol52-issue2-fulltext-313210.3856/vol52-issue2-fulltext-3132
Abstract
Deepwater fishing operations occur close to the shore of the Guatemalan Caribbean. In a study to characterize the deepwater species present in the fishing area, the incidental catch of a kitefin shark, Dalatias licha, was recorded at a depth of ~284-334 m, ca. 11 km northeast of El Quetzalito fishing village. The adult female with a total length of 1420 mm had morphological characteristics consistent with D. licha, which was confirmed by molecular methods. First record of D. licha in the western Caribbean region, a species cataloged at risk by the IUCN red list. With this record, the number of shark species known in the Guatemalan Caribbean increases to 25.