The Parasite Assemblage in the Spiral Intestine of the Shark Mustelus canis

Abstract.—To identify and characterize shark nursery habitat in the coastal waters of Massachusetts, longline and shark angler surveys were conducted from 1989 to 2002 in the neritic waters of Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts. Additional samples and information were opportunistically collected from recreational and commercial fishermen, as well as published sources. A total of 123 longline sets of 5,591 hooks caught 372 sharks consisting of 344 (92.5%) smooth dogfish Mustelus canis, 23 (6.2%) sandbar sharks Carcharhinus plumbeus, and 5 (1.3%) dusky sharks C. obscurus. The sharks were taken during the period of 16 June–24 September in water temperature and depth ranges of 16.0–27.2°C and 1.2–27.1 m, respectively. Longline catch rates (number of sharks per longline set) were stratified by species, area, month, year, water temperature, and depth. Angler surveys reported the capture of 294 sharks, including sandbar sharks (72%) and smooth dogfish (28%). Data from 540 neonatal and adult smooth dogfish ranging 27.5–121.0 cm fork length (FL) support the conclusion that the neritic waters of southern Massachusetts serve as primary nursery habitat for this species. Size and sex data from 235 juvenile sandbar sharks ranging 61.0–157.0 cm FL indicate that this region provides secondary nursery habitat for this species. Opportunistic samples of juvenile sand tiger Carcharias taurus, white shark Carcharodon carcharias, basking shark Cetorhinus maximus, and tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier provide evidence that these species utilize Massachusetts coastal waters for secondary nursery habitat.

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Immunochemical studies on pepsinogens A, C and D from the smooth dogfish, Mustelus canis

Immunochemistry ◽

10.1016/0019-2791(71)90239-4 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 201-209 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Terrence G. Merrett ◽

Lawrence Levine ◽

Helen Van Vunakis

Keyword(s):

Mustelus Canis

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Dogfish (Mustelus canis) Lens Catalase Reduces H202-Induced Opacification

Biological Bulletin ◽

10.1086/bblv189n2p222 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 189 (2) ◽

pp. 222-223 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

S. Zigman ◽

N. S. Rafferty ◽

M. Schultz

Keyword(s):

Mustelus Canis

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PHYLOGENETIC ORIGINS OF ANTIBODY STRUCTURE

Journal of Experimental Medicine ◽

10.1084/jem.122.3.601 ◽

1965 ◽

Vol 122 (3) ◽

pp. 601-618 ◽

Cited By ~ 118

Author(s):

J. Marchalonis ◽

G. M. Edelman

Keyword(s):

Primary Structure ◽

Evolutionary Development ◽

Antibody Activity ◽

Heavy Chains ◽

Serum Immunoglobulins ◽

Electrophoretic Behavior ◽

Starch Gel ◽

Antibody Structure ◽

Mustelus Canis ◽

Peptide Maps

The elasmobranch Mustelus canis has been shown to produce antibodies to Limulus hemocyanin. The serum of both normal and immunized M. canis contains immunoglobulins having sedimentation coefficients of approximately 7S and 17S. Antibody activity was found in the 17S immunoglobulin which may be dissociated to 7S components with concomitant loss of activity. Both 17S and 7S serum, immunoglobulins were antigenically identical. They consisted of light and heavy chains present in amounts comparable to those of higher vertebrates. Peptide maps indicated that the light chains had an entirely different primary structure than the heavy chains, but that the corresponding chains of 7S and 17S dogfish serum immunoglobulins were similar in primary structure. The heavy chains appeared to resemble the n chains of immunoglobulins of higher vertebrates in their starch gel electrophoretic behavior. It is suggested that the elasmobranch M. canis may have only one major class of immunoglobulins resembling that of macroglobulins (γM-immunoglobulins) seen in higher vertebrates. The results indicate that the multichain structure of antibodies is an ancient evolutionary development.

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