title: Mating scars reveal mate size in immature female blue shark Prionace glauca.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the size and maturity status of the male blue sharks Prionace glauca attempting to mate with small, immature females in the north-west Atlantic Ocean. The relationship between male curved fork length (LFC ) and jaw gape was used in conjunction with the diameter of the mating scar to estimate the LFC and infer the maturity status of the male shark that produced the mating scar. The results indicate that mature males with a mean ± s.d. LFC of 218 cm ± 23 cm were attempting to mate with sexually immature females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4J1, Canada.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Calich
authors.affiliation: Population Ecology Division, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2, Canada.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Campana
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D049628:Body Size; D002921:Cicatrix; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D012741:Sexual Maturation; D012754:Sharks / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries
keywords: elasmobranch; jaw gape; mating behaviour; reproduction; sexual maturity