Pacific Angel Shark

Pacific Angel Shark, Squatina californica

Pacific Angel Shark, Squatina californica, New Born with Egg Sac. Photograph taken of an alive undisturbed shark  in shallow water off Isla San Cosme, Baja California Sur, March 2019. Length: 23 cm (9.1 inches). Another exception pictorial example of reproduction via yolk-sac viviparous. Photograph courtesy of Barry Mastro, Escondido, California.

Pacific Angel Shark, Squatina californica, Juvenile. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, June 2009. Length: 25 cm (10 inches).

Pacific Angel Shark, Squatina californica, Juvenile, Albino. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, June 2009. Length: 24 cm (9.5 inches).

Pacific Angel Shark, Squatina californica, Head Shot And Pectoral Fin Denticles. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, April 2011. Length: 27 cm (11 inches).

The Pacific Angel Shark, Squatina californica, is a member of the Angel Shark or Squatinidae Family, and is known in Mexico as ángelote del Pacifico. There are twenty-three species in the Squatinidae Family, all within the genus Squatina, of which three are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and one, this species, in the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Angel Shark has a greatly flattened elongated body that has a diamond-shaped front half. They are mottled brown or grayish in color with small randomly spaced dark spots covering their body and fins. Their blind side is off-white. Their head is angular and broad at the rear with a distinct neck that is separated from the pectoral fins. Their mouth opens at the front. Their nostrils have a conical barbel with a flattened tip and are more widely spaced than their relatively large eyes, which are on top of the head and precede a pair of prominent spiracles. They have five gill slits that open on their underside. They do not have an anal fin. Their caudal fin has a larger lower lobe; their 2 dorsal fins are very small, of equal size, and located at the base of the tail; and their pectoral and pelvic fins are enlarged. They have denticles on the lower surface and along the margins of their anal, caudal, pectoral, and pelvic fins. Juveniles have thorns that are not present in adults.

The Pacific Angel Shark is a benthic species found inshore in coastal waters at depths up to 204 m (670 feet); they are also known to enter estuaries. They reach a maximum of 1.52 meters (5 feet 0 inches) in length, with females being larger than males. They are found over and within sandy and muddy bottoms lying dormant and half-buried with their eyes protracted during the day and only emerge at night to feed. They consume benthic fish including crustaceans, flatfish, and mollusks and have the ability to detect weak electric fields generated by their prey. They tend to migrate to deeper waters during warm periods. They are masters at camouflage and have the ability to rapidly change colors to match their substrate. Reproduction is via yolk sac with offspring born alive in litters of 7 to 25 pups that measure 21 cm (8.3 inches) to 26 cm (10.2 inches) in length. The Pacific Angel Shark is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Pacific Angel Shark is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but they have a limited distribution being found only along the entire west coast of Baja and throughout the Sea of Cortez. They are absent from along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.

The Pacific Angel Shark is most likely confused with the Giant Electric Ray, Narcine entemedor (uniform color; large rounded head profile; large pectoral fins).

From a conservation perspective, the Pacific Angel Shark is currently considered to be Near Threatened. with a significant decline in the population of mature adults. Presently they are rare and of limited commercial value, however they were heavily targeted by commercial fishermen in California in the 1970s and despite the implementation of heavy regulations they have failed to recover. This species is now absent from some regions in Baja California Sur where historically they were abundant with a documented reduction in mature fish. Certain Squatinidae are utilized by some global cultures fresh and dried salted for human consumption and in fish oil and fishmeal.