European Angel Shark
Angel sharks look rather like a cross between a shark and a ray , with their flattened body and wide pectoral and pelvic fins. But the position of the mouth (near the tip of the snout) and gill slits (on the back) shows that they are true sharks; in rays, both are on the ventral (lower) surface. Angel sharks spend long periods - often days or even weeks - lying half-buried in the sand or mud of the seabed waiting for prey to come within range of their snapping jaws. Although sometimes called the monkfish, this Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic species is quite different from the angler fish sold by fishmongers as monkfish.
Scientific name : Squatina squatina
Classification : Order Squatiniformes (angel sharks)
Family : Squatinidae
Size : Usually up to 1.8m (6ft) long; female sometimes 2m (6 1/2ft) or more
Distribution : Eastern North Atlantic; Mediterranean
Habitat : Bottom-living in temperate coastal waters, to 100m (330ft) or more
Diet : Bottom-living fish; crustaceans; octopuses; shellfish
Reproduction : Ovoviviparous; up to 25 young, born after about 10-month gestation