A new record of Squalus montalbani (Chondrichthyes: Squaliformes: Squalidae) from the Nansha (Spratly) Islands, South China Sea

Abstract

The Indonesian greeneye spurdog (or a dogfish shark), Squalus montalbani Whitley, 1931, is widely distributed in the warm temperate to tropical waters of Indonesia, Philippines, the island of Taiwan, and Australia. Previous studies suggested that the distribution of dogfish shark species in the South China Sea is composed of two species, Squalus mitsukurii Jordan et Snyder, 1903 and Squalus brevirostris Tanaka, 1917. In March 2020 a dogfish shark specimen was collected from the Nansha (Spratly) Islands, South China Sea. We identified it as S. montalbani based on morphology and mitochondrial DNA barcoding. Our results confirmed the presence of S. montalbani in the South China Sea, leading us to conclude that it represents a new species record of the genus Squalus in the region. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that the combined approach is highly effective in identifying Squalus species that share similar morphological characteristics.