The ginger carpetshark (''Parascyllium sparsimaculatum'') is a species of carpetshark of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Parascylliidae Parascylliidae, or the collared carpet sharks, is a family of sharks in the order Orectolobiformes, which are only found in shallow waters of the western Pacific. The family Parascylliidae contains two genera, '' Cirrhoscyllium'' and '' Parascyl ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the waters of western

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is a small fish at only TL in length in females and harmless to humans. Its depth range is on the upper

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

. It is known from only three specimens, so biological and population data are lacking. It is likely not under threat due to its depth range, but its limited range may make it vulnerable to fishing. Reproduction is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

and embryos feed solely on yolk.

References

* Compagno, Dando, & Fowler, ''Sharks of the World'', Princeton University Press, New Jersey 2005

External links

* * ginger carpetshark Marine fish of Western Australia ginger carpetshark {{shark-stub