Mollisquama parini Dolganov, 1984
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The pocket shark (Mollisquama parini) is a species of kitefin shark in the family Dalatiidae. The species is found in deep water off Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. It was the only member of the genus Mollisquama, until another species, M. mississippiensis, was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. Both species are distinguished from other sharks by two pockets next to the front fins. The pockets are large, measuring about 4% of the shark's body length. Some researchers hypothesize that the pockets may excrete some kind of glowing fluid or pheromones.
Wikipedia contributors, Pocket shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:13:46.287855+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mollisquama parini Dolganov, 1984
- Name authority
- Dolganov, 1984
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Squaliformes
- Family
- Dalatiidae
- Genus
- Mollisquama
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassSelachii
- superorderSqualomorphi
- orderSqualiformes Compagno, 1973
- familyDalatiidae Gray, 1851
- genusMollisquama Dolganov, 1984
- speciesMollisquama parini Dolganov, 1984
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Mollisquama. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Mollisquama mississippiensis Grace, Doosey, Denton, Naylor, Bart & Maisey, 2019 | DalatiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Dolganov, V. N. (1984). A new shark from the family Squalidae caught on the Naska submarine ridge. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, v. 63 (no. 10): 1589–1591. [In Russian, English summary.]. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:43WLG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.