Spurdog

• reproducciónIt can have one of the longest gestations known in any vertebrate, running to almost two years in some populations.
• Its gestation lasts close to two years, one of the longest of any vertebrate, and it does not breed until it is past fifteen: a biology incompatible with the industrial fishery that decimated it.
• It was one of the most heavily fished sharks in the world: for decades it was the main ingredient of British fish and chips and of European shark meat, with catches of hundreds of thousands of tonnes.
• Its dorsal spines are coated in an irritant secretion, and it forms enormous shoals segregated by sex and size that travel thousands of kilometres.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - cartilaginous skeleton (fish)

Habitat and environment

Temperate coastal and shelf waters of every ocean, including the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean

Birth weight

22 - 33 cm at birth

Size at birth

22-33 cm at birth; its gestation, of 18 to 24 months, is among the longest of any vertebrate

Sexual maturity

21 years

Gestation / incubation

22 months of gestation

Litter / clutch size

8

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List · Animal Diversity Web · Wikipedia (es)

Best time: From autumn to spring in temperate and cold waters; it forms very large schools, segregated by sex and by size.