OCCURRENCE OF DEEP-SEA SQUALIFORM SHARKS, ECHINORHINUS BRUCUS (ECHINORHINIDAE) AND CENTROPHORUS UYATO (CENTROPHORIDAE), IN MARMARA SHELF WATERS PRESENZA DI SQUALI SQUALIFORMI, ECHINORHINUS BRUCUS (ECHINORHINIDAE) E CENTROPHORUS UYATO (CENTROPHORIDAE), NELLE ACQUE DELLA PIATTAFORMA DI MARMARA POJAVLJANJE DVEH GLOBOKOMORSKIH MORSKIH PSOV ECHINORHINUS BRUCUS (ECHINORHINIDAE) IN CENTROPHORUS UYATO (CENTROPHORIDAE), V VODAH MARMARSKEGA ŠELFA

Abstract

On 2 October 2019, a female little gulper shark, Centrophorus uyato, was captured at a depth of 150 m in the central Sea of Marmara. The species had been last documented in the region in 1991 and the capture of the present specimen occurred more than 30 years after the species’ first occurrence in this area. On 21 August 2021, a shoal of bramble sharks (n=17), Echinorhinus brucus, were captured in the same station at a depth of 150 m. Large deep-sea sharks, such as E. brucus, should not be exclusively considered as solitary sharks, since the species has also been sighted in shoals; however, the aggregation recorded in the area requires further investigation to assist with future management plans for this species. The occurrence of these rare deep-sea sharks in the Sea of Marmara should be monitored carefully to ensure their existence in this marine environment.