Squatina squatina

Angelshark
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Subdivision:	Selachimorpha
Order:	Squatiniformes
Family:	Squatinidae
Genus:	Squatina
Species:	S. squatina
Binomial name
Squatina squatina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Former range of the angelshark
Synonyms
Squalraia acephala* de la Pylaie, 1835 Squalraia cervicata* de la Pylaie, 1835 Squalus squatina Linnaeus, 1758 Squatina angelus Blainville, 1825 Squatina angelus Gronow, 1854 Squatina europaea Swainson, 1839 Squatina laevis Cuvier, 1816 Squatina lewis Couch, 1825 Squatina vulgaris Risso, 1810 * ambiguous synonym

Squatina squatina, the angelshark or monkfish, is a species of shark in the family Squatinidae (known generally also as angel sharks), that were once widespread in the coastal waters of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Well-adapted for camouflaging itself on the sea floor, the angelshark has a flattened form with enlarged pectoral and pelvic fins, giving it a superficial resemblance to a ray. This species can be identified by its broad and stout body, conical barbels, thornless back (in larger individuals), and grayish or brownish dorsal coloration with a pattern of numerous small light and dark markings (that is more vivid in juveniles). It measures up to 2.4 m (7.9 ft) long.

Like other members of its family, the angelshark is a nocturnal ambush predator that buries itself in sediment and waits for passing prey, mostly benthic bony fishes, but also skates and invertebrates. An aplacental viviparous species, females bear litters of seven to 25 pups every other year. The angelshark normally poses little danger to humans, though if provoked, it is quick to bite. Since the mid-20th century, intense commercial fishing across the angelshark's range has decimated its population via bycatch – it is now locally extinct or nearly so across most of its northern range, and the prospects of the remaining fragmented subpopulations are made more precarious by its slow rate of reproduction. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed this species as Critically Endangered.