Family SCYLIORHINIDAE

Scyliorhinidae

© Copyright Ros Poole.

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Introduction

Members of the Scyliorhinidae, the catsharks, were revised most recently by Springer (1979) who treated 17 genera and 86 species, but studied very little Indo-Pacific material. Compagno (1984a) provided a key to the western Indian Ocean species and Nakaya (1975) treated Japanese species. Subsequently, several undescribed species were discovered from New Zealand, Australia, Japan and China, many of which are now described. Compagno (1984b) treated all described species known at that time, but more recently Compagno et al. (2005) treated 15 genera and 133 species and indicated that the family comprises over 160 species, many undescribed. No comparison has been made of species from various geographical areas. Two subgenera, Bythaelurus and Figaro subsequently have been elevated to recognised genera, bringing the total number of genera to 17.

Currently, nine genera and 34 described species are known from Australia. Many of the tropical species from Australia are treated in Compagno & Niem (1998). Compagno et al. (2005) and Last & Stevens (1994, 2009) treated all described species known from Australia. Stevens and Compagno kindly provided information on Australian species.

Catsharks are found in tropical and temperate regions of the world. Some species occur in shallow coastal areas, but most are confined to the continental shelf and slope to depths of 2000 m. They are oviparous and produce a horny egg case. They feed on fishes and invertebrates and rarely exceed 1.5 m in length.

General References

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984a. Sharks. [unnumbered pages] In, Fischer, W. & Bianchi, G. (eds) FAO Species Identification Sheets for Fishery Purposes. Western Indian Ocean (Fishing Area 51). Rome : FAO Vol. 5.

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984b. FAO Species Catalogue. Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125. Rome : FAO Vol. 4(2) 251-655 pp.

Compagno, L.J.V., Dando, M. & Fowler, S. 2005. A Field Guide to the Sharks of the World. London : Collins 368 pp.

Compagno, L.J.V. & Niem, V.H. 1998. Families Scyliorhinidae, Proscylliidae. pp. 1279-1292 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 2 687-1396 pp.

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls.

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp.

Nakaya, K. 1975. Taxonomy, comparative anatomy and phylogeny of Japanese catsharks, Scyliorhinidae. Memoirs of the Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University 23(1): 1-94 figs 1-43

Springer, S. 1979. A revision of the catsharks, family Scyliorhinidae. National Marine Fisheries Service (U.S.). Technical Report 422: 1-152 figs 1-97

Common Name References

Compagno, L.J.V. & Niem, V.H. 1998. Families Scyliorhinidae, Proscylliidae. pp. 1279-1292 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 2 687-1396 pp. [1279] (FAO) (Catsharks)

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