First reports of Megamouth Shark, Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983 (Lamniformes, Megachasmidae),& in Peru

By

Kelez, Shaleyla
Maguiño Napuri, Rossana
Mendoza Pfennig, Alejandra
Caldas Martinez, Oswaldo
Torres Carrasco, Antonio

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2020-10-15

Original Publication

Check list : journal of species lists and distribution

Volume

16

Series / Issue

Issue: 5

Pages

1361--1367

Subjects

bycatch , Elasmobranchs , range extension , strandings

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[São Paulo, Brazil] Luís Felipe Toledo 2005-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/16.5.1361

 

Abstract

Megamouth Shark, Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983, is one of the least-known shark species worldwide. We report the encounters of four megamouth sharks: one caught in a driftnet off Piura (November 2016; sex indeterminate), one landed in Los Organos (July 2018; female), one stranded in El Ñuro (July 2018; sex indeterminate, ca 300 m total length), and one caught in a purse seine off Lambayeque (June 2019; female, total length ca 300 cm). These are the first records from Peru and expand the species’ known southern limit by 415 km. With the addition of M. pelagios, there are 67 species of sharks in Peru.