The yellowspotted catshark (''Scyliorhinus capensis'') is a rare

catshark Catsharks are ground sharks of the family Scyliorhinidae. They are the largest family of sharks with around 160 species placed in 17 genera. Although they are generally known as catsharks, some species can also be called dogfish due to previous ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Scyliorhinidae. It is found in the southeast

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, from

Lüderitz Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town is known for its colonial architecture, includ ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

to central

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, between

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

s 0° and 37° S. It can grow up to a length of about . The reproduction of this catshark is oviparous.

Description

The yellowspotted catshark is a long slender fish with rough skin. The upperparts are light grey, copiously spotted with small golden-yellow spots. There are eight or nine dark patches on the back which bridge the spine. The underside is cream-coloured. Small flaps cover the nostrils but do not extend as far as the mouth and there are no nasoral grooves. There are two triangular dorsal fins, the front one considerably larger than the rear one.

Distribution and habitat

The yellowspotted catshark is found in the seas around the coast of southern Africa at depths down to about . Its range extends from Lüderitz in Namibia to central Natal. Although fairly common off the coast of South Africa it occurs less frequently and in deeper waters in the more tropical parts of its range in Namibia and Natal. Although seen over sandy bottoms, it also frequents rocky reefs.

Biology

The yellowspotted catshark feeds on small fish, crustaceans and squid. It is an egg-laying species, laying a single egg at a time, and enclosing it in an egg case roughly . The juvenile fish when they hatch may measure about and the adults can grow to but most individuals are under a metre (3 ft) long. This shark is more common on rocky reefs than on sandy seabeds.

Status

The IUCN, in its

Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

lists the yellowspotted catshark as being "

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...

". In the offshore waters where it lives there is a large

hake The term hake refers to fish in the: * Family Merlucciidae of northern and southern oceans * Family Phycidae (sometimes considered the subfamily Phycinae in the family Gadidae) of the northern oceans Hake Hake is in the same taxonomic order ( ...

fishery and the yellowspotted catshark is caught and discarded as bycatch during

trawling Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different spec ...

. The rate of reproduction is probably failing to keep up with the depletion of the adult population by this means thus threatening the species' future.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2625946 yellowspotted catshark Fish of South Africa Marine fauna of Southern Africa yellowspotted catshark