Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno, & Struhsaker, 1983

Megamouth Shark

Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno, & Struhsaker, 1983: 87, 96, figs. 1–15. Holotype: BPBM 22730, off Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, 21°51'N, 157°46'W.

Local synonymy: Megachasma pelagios: Smale et al., 2002: 350, fig. 1; Compagno et al., 2005: 178, fig., pl. 28; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 219, fig., pl. 26; NPOA, 2013: 32; Ebert & Dando, 2014: 71, fig.; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 145; Weigmann, 2016: 851.

South Africa voucher material: SAM 36030 .

South African distribution: Known from a single specimen that washed ashore at Nature’s Valley near Plettenberg Bay (EC).

Remarks: The South African record is the western most record in the Indian Ocean.

Conservation status: LC (2019).