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Callorhinchus milii  Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1823

Ghost shark
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Callorhinchus milii
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New Zealand country information

Common names: Elephant fish, Elephantfish, Makorepe
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: minor commercial | Ref: Annala, J.H. (comp.), 1994
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: restricted | Ref: Cox, G. and M. Francis, 1997
Uses: no uses
Comments: Occurs around the South Island, most common near Banks Peninsula, in 20-200 m (Ref. 9258). From Eastern Bay of Plenty to Snares shelf, possibly to Kaipara Harbour (Ref. 89422). Fished commercially during the spring-summer inshore migration (Ref. 26346). Annual catch sometimes approaches 1,000 tons with substantial quantity exported to Australia (Ref. 9072). The fishery is predominantly an incidental by-catch of other target fisheries (Ref. 9072). May be sold as fish and chips (Ref. 26346). Voucher specimen(s) held at the NMNZ (Ref. 5755). Also Ref. 6871, 27363, 58461, 75154.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/nz.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.fish.govt.nz/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Cox, G. and M. Francis, 1997
National Database:

Classification / Names

Holocephali (chimaeras) > Chimaeriformes (Chimaeras) > Callorhinchidae (Plownose chimaeras)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Main reference

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 125 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26346); common length : 75.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9258)

Length at first maturity
Lm 71.0, range 70 - ? cm

Environment

Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 227 m (Ref. 26346)

Climate / Range

Subtropical, preferred 16°C (Ref. 107945); 33°S - 50°S

Distribution

Southwest Pacific: southern Australia and New Zealand.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs on continental shelves to depths of at least 200 m (Ref. 6871). Migrates into large estuaries and inshore bays in the spring to breed (Ref. 6871). Feeds mainly on shellfish (Ref. 26346). Oviparous (Ref. 50449). Eggs are encased in horny shells (Ref. 205). Flesh is of good eating quality. Males have a small, club-like protuberance on the head and also long copulation organs near the pelvic fins (Ref. 557).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: commercial

More information

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

BHL | BOLDSystems | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD50 = 0.7500 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
3.6   ±0.29 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.06-0.26; tm=2-6; Fec=2)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Very high vulnerability (75 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
High