SummaryLength and weight descriptive statistics are reported for 29 demersal fish species caught off the Madeira archipelago during three yearly surveys (1997, 2004 and 2005) using bottom long-lines from depths of 25-1150 m. Weight-length relationships were estimated for 18 of these species. The parameter b ranged between 2.737 in Polyprion americanus and 3.674 in Benthodesmus simonyi. Additionally, in 11 species, parameter a was calculated setting b = 3. To the authorsÕ knowledge all weight-length relationships presented herein are recorded for the first time from the Madeira area, and in the cases of Deania profundorum, Muraena helena and B. simonyi, are the first references worldwide.
The endohelminth parasite fauna of a deep water shark, the leafscale gulper shark, Centrophorus squamosus, examined from Madeiran waters, from September 2009 to January 2010, consisted of larval and juvenile cestodes of two orders, namely Trypanorhyncha and Tetraphyllidea, and L3 stages of Anisakis spp. Infection with Anisakis spp. could be due to the shark's opportunistic feeding on squids and black-scabbard fish, Aphanopus carbo, which is heavily parasitized by Anisakis spp. in Madeira waters. The occurrence of larval and juvenile cestodes only, in this shark, suggests that the leafscale gulper shark features as a paratenic or a dead-end host for the parasites.
This is the first work describing some biological aspects of the arrowhead dogfish, Deania profundorum. The specimens were captured in two surveys (2004 -2005) between 151 and 1200 m off the Madeira archipelago (north-east Atlantic Ocean). A total of 351 females (36 -110 cm) and 169 males (27-94 cm) were sampled. The smallest (27 cm) and the biggest (110 cm) specimens ever caught were recorded. Females were most abundant in the overall depths, apart from the middle range of 451-1050 m where the sex-ratio was 1:1. A vertical stratification by size occurred, since all the juveniles less than 40 cm length were caught deeper than 950 m. This species was sexually dimorphic with females growing to larger sizes than males and being larger at first maturity. All stages of maturity were found during the sampling period. Nineteen gravid females with six to 11 embryos (9-18 cm length) were found. The data obtained indicate that the Madeira slopes are a nursery and reproductive area for D. profundorum.
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