Diet of spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias Linnaeus, on the east coast, South Island, New Zealand

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Author: Hanchet, S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1991
• Subjects: New Zealand; spiny dogfish; Squalus acanthias
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1991.tb04365.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1095-8649.1991.tb04365.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1991.tb04365.x

Stomach content data from 7283 spiny dogfish, Squalus ucunthius Linnaeus, from east coast South Island of New Zealand are presented. The major dietary components based on occurrence were 60% crustaceans and 15% fish. The principal food items were the post‐larval phase of the squat lobster, Munida greguria Fabricius (30%), and the euphausiid, Nyctiphanes australis Sars (20%). Commercial fish species contributed to less than 5% of the diet. Diet of dogfish varied with dogfish size and sex. Compared to northern hemisphere studies, spiny dogfish in this study area had (1) a high proportion of crustaceans in their diet, (2) a relatively low percentage of empty stomachs, (3) a relatively high incidence of cannibalism.