Mark Clarke over at Practical Fishkeeling is noting there’s been a “new Mandarin shark discovered,” and named from south eastern Australia.

William White, Peter Last and John Stevens of Australia’s CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research named the new species Cirrhigaleus australis in an announcement paper in the newest issue of the journal Zootaxa.

Clarke writes, “Cirrhigaleus australis is a member of the Mandarin dogfish group of squalid sharks which typically reach lengths of just a metre or so….The new species is believed to occur in temperate waters off eastern Australia and its range may extend as far as New Zealand. The characteristic long nasal lobes, or barbels, on Cirrhigaleus give the fishes their common name of Mandarin sharks. They are found at depths from 146-640m and reach a length of around 1.25m.”

Clarke’s original source: White WT, Last PR and JD Stevens (2007) – Cirrhigaleus australis n. sp., a new Mandarin dogfish (Squaliformes: Squalidae) from the south-west Pacific. Zootaxa, 1560: 19-30 (2007).