The speckled catshark (''Halaelurus boesemani'') is a

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

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Chan ...

and off the coast of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

. It occurs at depths of between . Its length is up to 48 cm.

Taxonomy

In the past, this species was thought to occur both in the western Indian Ocean and in the waters around

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

, 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 po ...

s 21° N and 26° S. However, two new species of '' Halaelurus'' have been described from these latter areas, and the speckled catshark is now thought to be restricted to the western Indian Ocean.

Description

The speckled catshark grows to a maximum length of about . It has a pointed snout, small mouth and raised gill slits. The front of the first dorsal fin is situated above the hind third of the pelvic fin, while the front of the second dorsal fin, which is about the same size as the first, is situated above the hind third of the anal fin. The back and the base of the tail have about eight irregular, dark saddle-shaped markings, and there are dark blotches on the dorsal and caudal fins and many small dark spots on the back, flanks and fins.

Distribution and habitat

The speckled catshark is known from the

, and off the coast of

, with a separate population extending from Viet Nam and the Philippines, through Indonesia to Western Australia. It is a

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a laye ...

species, living on continental shelves and insular shelves, with a depth range of between .

Ecology

The reproduction of this species of shark has been little studied. Four eggcases have been found inside the oviduct of a female but it is unclear whether the eggs hatch internally, or the cases are deposited onto the seabed and the eggs develop there. The length of the juvenile at birth/hatching is or more.

Status

The speckled catshark is poorly researched and the threats it faces are unclear. Fisheries in Somalia are largely unregulated, with foreign-owned vessels fishing illegally. Artisanal fisheries are unlikely to target this species because of its small size, nevertheless it is vulnerable to being caught as

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juven ...

in both trawling and netting operations. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

considers that there is insufficient evidence to understand the conservation needs of this fish and have classified it as "vulnerable".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2719460

speckled catshark The speckled catshark (''Halaelurus boesemani'') is a catshark of the family Scyliorhinidae. It is found in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia. It occurs at depths of between . Its length is up to 48 cm. Taxonomy In the past, th ...

Fish of Somalia Marine fauna of East Asia Marine fish of Western Australia