Diet of the leaf scale gulper shark (Centrophorus squamosus) in the North Atlantic off Morocco

Squaliform sharks are a relatively vulnerable bycatch in many deep-water fisheries. Diets of the leafscale gulper shark (Centrophorus squamosus) on the continental slope and continental shelf (200-1600 m) of Moroccan coasts (north-east Atlantic) were studied based on samples landed by 11 longliners in 8 Moroccan fishing ports. The samples were collected every month between February 2018 to March 2021. The diet of 713 individuals with sizes from 60 to 138 cm (total length), 362 females and 351 males, were determined by the examination of the stomach content. Macroscopic and microscopic observations were carried out and we found that the diet of C. squamosus consists of five groups of prey: teleostei, cephalopods, crustaceans, nematodes and chondrichthyes. The main species of prey consumed by the leafscale gulper shark are: Alepocephalus sp. and Aphanopus carbo (Teleostei), Sepia sp. and Octopus vulgaris (cephalopods), Aristeus antennatus and Nephrops norvegicus (crustaceans). In the diet of C. squamosus, chondrichthyes (Chimaera monstrosa and Dalatias licha). The Teleostei group comprised the preferential prey for leafscale gulper shark, with an index of relative importance of 174.18.