Quagga catshark

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Quagga catshark
Specimen from Quilon, India

Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Subdivision: Selachimorpha
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Scyliorhinidae
Genus: Halaelurus
Species:
H. quagga
Binomial name
Halaelurus quagga
(Alcock, 1899)
Range of the quagga catshark[1]
Synonyms

Scyllium quagga Alcock, 1899

The quagga catshark (Halaelurus quagga) is a species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae. A small, slim-bodied shark reaching 37 cm (15 in) in length, it has a distinctive color pattern of narrow, dark brown vertical bars, which resemble those of the quagga. Its head is short and flattened, with a pointed snout tip that is not upturned.

Little is known of the quagga catshark's natural history, as it is known only from nine specimens caught off southwestern India and eastern Somalia. Inhabiting the offshore waters of

oviparous mode of reproduction, with a record of a female containing eight eggs that were enclosed in brown capsules bearing long tendrils at the corners. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) presently lacks sufficient data to assess the conservation status of this species. It is not economically valued but is taken as bycatch
.

Taxonomy

Drawing of the quagga catshark type specimen from Illustrations of the Zoology of the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship Investigator (1900), which complemented Alcock's description.

The first specimen of the quagga catshark was a 27 cm (11 in) long adult male collected by the

naturalist Alfred William Alcock in A Descriptive Catalogue of the Indian Deep-sea Fishes in the Indian Museum, published in 1899. He assigned the new species to the genus Scyllium (a synonym of Scyliorhinus) and named it after the quagga (Equus quagga quagga) because of their similar color patterns. Later authors moved this species to the genus Halaelurus.[2][3]

Only nine quagga catshark specimens have been recorded. In addition to Alcock's

Quilon, India in 2010.[5] A male specimen reported from the Gulf of Aden in 1939 was later re-identified as a speckled catshark (H. boesemani).[4]

Description

Indian specimen of a quagga catshark, showing the dorsally positioned eyes and gill slits, and the non-upturned snout tip.

Slender and firm-bodied, the quagga catshark has a short and flattened head with a pointed snout. The slightly protruding tip of the snout is not upturned like in some other Halaelurus species. The anterior rims of the nostrils bear triangular flaps of skin. The small, horizontally oval eyes are placed high on the head and have rudimentary

tooth rows on each side; in addition, there are three tooth rows at the upper symphysis (jaw midpoint) and one row at the lower. The teeth have three cusps.[6] The five pairs of gill slits are placed higher than the level of the mouth; the fifth pair are smaller than the rest.[3][5]

The moderately large and rounded

dermal denticles, which have arrowhead-shaped crowns with a central ridge and three posterior teeth.[6] This shark has a striking dorsal color pattern consisting of over 20 narrow, dark brown vertical bars on a light brown background; the bars run from the head to the tail and extend onto the dorsal fins. The underside is off-white, and the pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins have pale trailing margins. The largest known specimen is 37 cm (15 in) long.[3][5]

Distribution and habitat

The known specimens of the quagga catshark have been collected from the

bottom-dwelling species found far from shore over the continental shelf.[3]

Biology and ecology

The diet of the quagga catshark consists of deep-living

gravid with eight eggs, divided evenly between the two oviducts. The eggs are enclosed in brown purse-shaped capsules measuring 3.8–4.0 cm (1.5–1.6 in) in length, with long coiled tendrils at their four corners.[5] The smallest known specimen is 8 cm (3.1 in) long, which is probably close to the size at hatching. Males reach sexual maturity at between 28 and 35 cm (11 and 14 in) long; female maturation size is unknown.[3][5]

Human interactions

The quagga catshark is harmless and is not utilized by humans.

Data Deficient.[1]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T161625A109913019.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Alcock, A.W. (1899). A Descriptive Catalogue of the Indian Deep-sea Fishes in the Indian Museum. Trustees of the Indian Museum. p. 17.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9251013845
    .
  4. ^ a b c d Springer, S.; D’Aubrey, J.D. (1972). "Two new scyliorhinid sharks from the east coast of Africa with notes on related species". Oceanographic Research Institute, Investigational Report 29. pp.1–15.
  5. ^
    doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2781.1.3
    .
  6. ^ a b Springer, S. (1979). "A Revision of the Catsharks, Family Scyliorhinidae". NOAA Technical Report, NMFS Circular 422. pp. 1–152.
  7. ^ Froese, R.; Pauly, D., eds. (2011). "Halaelurus quagga". FishBase. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
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