Title

First record of the megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios, (family Megachasmidae) in the tropical western North Atlantic Ocean

Authors

Grisel Rodriguez-Ferrer, Recreational and Sport Fisheries Division
Bradley M. Wetherbee, University of Rhode Island
Michelle Schärer, HJR Reefscaping
Craig Lilyestrom, Recreational and Sport Fisheries Division
Jan P. Zegarra, Caribbean Field Office
Mahmood Shivji, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2017

Publication Title

Marine Biodiversity Records

Keywords

Caribbean, DNA barcoding, First record, Megamouth shark, Puerto Rico, Range extension

ISSN

1755-2672

Volume

10

Issue/No.

1

Abstract

Background: A new record of Megachasma pelagios is here reported for the tropical western North Atlantic Ocean from Puerto Rico. Results: On December 10, 2016, a tourist reported an unusual stranded shark on Mojacasabe Beach, Cabo Rojo, on the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico. Visual examination of the carcass and mitochondrial DNA analysis from a dorsal fin sample revealed it to be a 457 cm female megamouth shark. Conclusion: This record represents the first record of M. pelagios for the tropical western North Atlantic Ocean within the Caribbean Sea of southwest Puerto Rico and only the second record of M. pelagios from the North Atlantic.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

NSUWorks Citation

Rodriguez-Ferrer, Grisel; Bradley M. Wetherbee; Michelle Schärer; Craig Lilyestrom; Jan P. Zegarra; and Mahmood Shivji. 2017. "First record of the megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios, (family Megachasmidae) in the tropical western North Atlantic Ocean." Marine Biodiversity Records 10, (1). doi:10.1186/s41200-017-0117-y.

ResearcherID

G-4080-2013

DOI

10.1186/s41200-017-0117-y