Threatened Species Nomination 2020 Details of the nominated species or subspecies NAME OF SPECIES (OR SUBSPECIES) Scientific name: Squatina albipunctata Common name(s): Eastern angelshark TAXONOMY Provide any relevant detail on the species' taxonomy (e.g. authors of taxon or naming authority, year and reference; synonyms; Family and Order). Squatina albipunctata, Last and White (2008). Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Chondrichthyans Subclass: Elasmobranchii Order: Squatiniformes Family: Squatinidae Genus: Squatina Species: Albipunctata This species has previously been confused with the Australian angelshark (Squatina australis), due to a range overlap from central New South Wales to eastern Victoria (Last and Stevens 1994). The distinction between the species was clarified in Last and Stevens (1994). It was identified as a unique species by Last and White (2008), and confirmed by molecular analysis by Stelbrink et al. (2010). CONVENTIONALLY ACCEPTED Is the species’ taxonomy conventionally accepted? Yes No If the species is not conventionally accepted please provide the following information required by the EPBC Regulations 2000: • a taxonomic description of the species in a form suitable for publication in conventional scientific literature; OR • evidence that a scientific institution has a specimen of the species, and a written statement signed by a person who is a taxonomist and has relevant expertise (has worked with, or is a published author on, the class of species nominated), that the species is considered to be a new species. n.a. DESCRIPTION Provide a description of the species including where relevant, distinguishing features, size and social structure How distinct is this species in its appearance from other species? How likely is it to be misidentified? Squatina albipunctata is a medium-sized, ground-dwelling shark with a robust, dorsoventrally flattened body (Last and White 2008; Figures 1 and 2). The dorsal surface is tan to dark brown with dense white spots and brown splotches and is densely covered with denticles (Last and White 2008). It has a ray-like appearance, with a depressed trunk and large, broad pectoral fins. Unlike rays, the pectoral fins are not fully fused to the body and the gills are located dorsally. It has two upright dorsal fins of similar size and shape, located on the relatively short tail and large, elongated pelvic fins (Last and White 2008). Its broad head is depressed and laterally extended, with orbital spines and wide spiracles located near its small, widely spaced eyes (Last and Stevens 2009). It has a terminal mouth and fringed nasal barbels (Last and Stevens 2009). Page 2 of 15 The social system of S.albipunctata is unknown. S. albipunctata is one of four species of angelshark in Australian waters, however only S. australis has an overlapping range, from Newcastle in central New South Wales (NSW) to Eastern Victoria (Last and Stevens 1994). These species are readily differentiated as S. albipunctata has dense white dorsal spots, stronger coloration, “heavy” orbital spines and no midline spines (Last and Stevens, 2009). S. albipunctata also occur mostly in deeper waters than S. australis (Last and Stevens 1994). Raoult et al. (2017) noted that the relative eye size of S. albipunctata is larger and this may benefit hunting given its deeper bathymetric range. DISTRIBUTION Provide a succinct overview of the species’ known or estimated current and past distribution, including international/national distribution. Provide a map if available. Is the species protected within the reserve system (e.g. national parks, Indigenous Protected Areas, or other conservation estates, private land covenants, etc.)? If so, which populations? Which reserves are actively managed for this species? Give details. S. albipunctata is endemic to eastern Australia. It occurs on the outer continental shelf and upper slope from Cairns in far north Queensland to Lakes Entrance in Victoria ( Last and Stevens 2009; Figure 3). The home range and movement patterns of S. albipunctata are not known. Some Squatina species have pronounced seasonal movements depending on size and sex (see Meyers et al. 2016). This has not been assessed in S. albipunctata, but has major implications for how the species is impacted by fisheres (the main threat to its viability – see Threats) and how it may respond to management actions. There are no captive populations used for propagation. Although a large portion of its range occurs in Australian Marine Parks (75.3 per cent), only 12.6 per cent of this portion is located in fishery exclusion zones (Heupel et al. 2018). These areas are not actively managed for this species, nor are quantitative measures in place to assess the efficacy of this protection for this species. BIOLOGY/ECOLOGY Provide a summary of biological and ecological information. Include information required by the EPBC Regulations 2000 on: • life cycle including age at sexual maturity, life expectancy, natural mortality rates • specific biological characteristics • habitat requirements for the species • for fauna: feeding behaviour and food preference and daily seasonal movement patterns • for flora: pollination and seed dispersal patterns S. albipunctata can reach 130cm total length (TL) with a maximum published weight of 17kg (Raoult et al. 2017). The species displays female-biased sexual size dimorphism, with maturity occurring at 91cm TL for males and 107cm TL for females (Last and Stevens 2009, Raoult et al. 2017). The corresponding age is particularly difficult to measure in this species but is inferred from the closely related S. californica which is considered mature at around 5 years of age (Cailliet et al. 1992). The average life expectancy and natural mortality rates are unknown. This late maturity suggests that this species may have protracted recovery rates and therefore particularly vulnerable to population loss. The reproductive biology of S. albipunctata is not well understood, and the following attributes are largely inferred from related species. It is presumed that it has similar parity to the partially sympatric S. australis which is lecithotrophic viviparous (Pogonoski et al. 2016) with litter sizes of up to 20 pups (Michael 2001). The gestation period is assumed to be similar to S. californica (Pacific Angel Shark) of around 10 months (Michael 2001). It is known that S. albipunctata pups are born at around 27-30cm TL (Last and Stevens 2009) and S. californica is thought to have a generation length of 23 years (estimated from age data; Cailliet et al. 1992). The timing of breeding has not been confirmed, however in one study, embryos were observed in females specimens in April (austral autumn) at 60mm (gestation is complete at 250mm; Raoult et al. 2017). Fisheries that impact this species operate year round. Its breeding habitat, behaviour and success are not known. Page 3 of 15 S. albipunctata is a marine demersal shark, mainly occurring at depths of 35 to 415m on the outer continental shelf and upper slope (Last and Stevens 2009; Last and White 2008). At the shallower end of its range, it is found on sandy or muddy substrates, and both hard and soft substrate in deeper waters (Pogonoski et al. 2016). S. albipunctata is a visual ambush predator that typically targets benthic and demersal species of crustaceans, cephalopods and bony fish. This means particularly susceptible to disturbances and mortalities from demersal trawl operations. It is possible that size segregation in habitat use occurs, with juveniles found in shallower waters, as observed in some Australian angelsharks (Bridge et al. 1998). The relative eye length differentiation between juveniles and adults S. albipunctata (Raoult et al. 2017) may support a similar behaviour. The impact of such behavioural segregation is important to consider as it may result in disturbances having disproportionate demographic effects. Threats IDENTIFICATION OF KNOWN THREATS AND IMPACT OF THE THREATS Identify in the tables below any known threats to the species, under the provided headings indicate if the threat is past, current or future and whether the threats are actual or potential. Past threats Impact of threat Mortalities from commercial In the southern half of its range, where it was likely most abundant, this trawl fisheries species has been valuable component of the marketable byproduct taken in the NSW Prawn Trawl Fishery and Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) demersal trawl operations (Graham et al. 2001; Simpfendorfer et al. 2019). It is a popular eating fish, sold as angel shark, boneless fillet and monkfish (Last and Stevens 2009). This is thought to be a major contributing factor to a dramatic decline in abundance. Populations were assessed in a fishery-independent trawl survey which found a decline in abundance of 96% over 20 years, with catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) falling from 32.6 kg/h to 1.3 kg/h from 1976 to 1997 (Graham et al. 2001). This decline was found in all areas surveyed in the southern end of its range, between central NSW (Sydney area) and northern Victoria (Eden/Gabo Island). Furthermore, the mean size of large S.albipunctata caught during these surveys fell substantially (recorded as Squatina sp. nov. A; Graham et al. 2001). The surveyed area consists of about one quarter of the species overall distribution(Pogonoski et al. 2016). Catch rates are very low in the northern half of its range where it is thought to be less abundant (Rigby et al. 2016). Here it is discarded bycatch in the deepwater section of the Eastern King Prawn sector of the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (Rigby et al. 2016). This is an ongoing threat – please see Current and Future Threats. Current threats Impact of threat Mortalities from commercial The overall population of S. albipunctata is considered to be declining trawl fisheries further (Pogonoski et al. 2016). Little species-specific action has been taken to offset this threat, and trawling operations continue to operate in key areas of its range (mostly southern end of its distribution), providing an ongoing threat to the viability of this species.