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First confirmed location of Carcharhinus signatus in Puerto Rico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2022

Michelle Schärer-Umpierre Open the ORCID record for Michelle Schärer-Umpierre [Opens in a new window]  and
Glorimar Franqui-Rivera
Michelle Schärer-Umpierre*
Affiliation:
HJR Reefscaping, PO Box 1442, Boquerón 00622, Puerto Rico
Glorimar Franqui-Rivera
Affiliation:
Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, PO Box 9000, Mayagüez 00681, Puerto Rico
*
Author for correspondence: Michelle Schärer-Umpierre, E-mail: m_scharer@hotmail.com
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Abstract

A new location record for the night shark, Carcharhinus signatus, is reported for Puerto Rico. DNA barcoding was used to confirm the photo identification of a shark captured incidentally by a small-scale commercial fisher. The adult female night shark was recovered from a depth of 330 m entangled in hook and line gear used in the deep-water snapper and grouper fishery. This record is the first confirmed sighting for Puerto Rico, increasing the shark species reported for the island and supporting its range up to the Mona Passage in the eastern Caribbean Sea.

Keywords

CarcharhinidaeCaribbeanDNA barcodingfishery interactionnight shark

Information

Type
Marine Record
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 102 , Issue 8 , December 2022 , pp. 576 - 579
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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