Diet composition and feeding habits of the milk shark Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837) in the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea
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This study is aimed to provide detailed information on the diet of Rhizoprionodon acutus in the Gulf of Suez. The findings suggest the specialized feeding behavior of this species in the Gulf of Suez. A total of 240 Stomachs of R. acutus were examined. The number of stomachs that contained prey items was 146 (60.83%), while 94 stomachs were empty (39.16%). Identifiable prey items belonging to 24 species of marine organisms correspond to 13 families of teleost fishes, three families of cephalopods, two families of crustaceans, one of eels, and one of sea urchins. Prey items of little importance included the teleost fishes Lutjanus bohar (0.003% (and the sea urchin Clypeaster humilis, (0.004%); each was only found in one stomach. Unidentified teleosts comprised the bulk of the observed prey items in terms of frequency of occurrence (63.7%), number (66.67%), weight (53.94%), and relative importance (96.54%). The identified prey items contained pelagic, demersal, reef-associated, and benthic organisms. When grouping food items into their large categories and comparing them in terms of %IRI, teleost fishes were the preferable prey item, with 96.54% unidentified and 1.49% identified, followed by Cephalopods (1.73%), eels (0.16%) and finally, Crustacean (0.09%). The trophic level of R. acutus in the Gulf of Suez was estimated to be 4.2, which categorizes it as a tertiary consumer.
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