The chain catshark or chain dogfish (''Scyliorhinus retifer'') is a small, reticulated

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 ...

that is biofluorescent. The species is common in the Northwest Atlantic,

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United S ...

and Caribbean. It is harmless and rarely encountered by humans. It has very similar reproductive traits to the

small-spotted catshark The small-spotted catshark (''Scyliorhinus canicula''), also known as the sandy dogfish, lesser-spotted dogfish, rough-hound or morgay (in Scotland and Cornwall), is a catshark of the family Scyliorhinidae. It is found on the continental shelves ...

(''S. canicula'').

Distribution

The chain catshark is found in the Northwest Atlantic,

and Caribbean, ranging from George's Bank in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, to

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...

and

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...

. In the

Mid-Atlantic Bight The Mid-Atlantic Bight is a coastal region running from Massachusetts to North Carolina. It contains the New York Bight. It is separated from the South Atlantic Bight by Cape Hatteras to the south and the Gulf of Maine to the north by Cape Cod ...

, the chain catshark is found along the outer continental shelf and upper slope. The shark occupies depths of ; in the northern part of its range it is mainly found between and in the southern areas generally deeper than . Due to the shark's depth distribution, it has been suggested that the shark does not perform large-scale migrations. Temperature is thought to limit the shark's distribution in northern areas, particularly during the winter. Although bands of warm water at the edge of the shelf have been observed, the temperature varies seasonally, thus limiting this non-migratory species. In general, the chain catshark is found in waters with a temperature between and . Scyliorhinus retifer jaws.jpg, Jaws Scyliorhinus retifer upper teeth.jpg, Upper teeth Scyliorhinus retifer lower teeth.jpg, Lower teeth

Habitat and behavior

The catshark spends the daytime resting at the bottom, usually in contact with certain structures. It has been observed with large burrowing cerianthid

anemone ''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all continents except Australia, New Zealand ...

tubes and boulders. The bottom rubble is thought to be used as a camouflage with the shark's spotted surface. Adult sharks tend to prefer rough bottoms, creating a difficulty for

trawl 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 spe ...

sampling, while the immature forms are found near smoother regions. The chain catshark has been known to feed on squid, bony fish,

polychaetes Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are ...

and crustaceans. In aquaria, they are relatively motionless, spending the day resting on the bottom, but during the night and when fed they are very active.

Reproduction

Size and sexual maturity

The maximum length of this shark is . In the female chain catshark, follicle development has been correlated to nidamental gland size, thus, they are considered mature when they have a fully developed nidamental gland or shell gland. This is marked by the glands growth to or more in width. Sexual maturity in the female is seen at in length under normal conditions. There has been evidence however that some northern populations of the shark may mature at a smaller size, at . In the male catshark, testis development is correlated to

clasper In biology, a clasper is a male anatomical structure found in some groups of animals, used in mating. Male cartilaginous fish have claspers formed from the posterior portion of their pelvic fin which serve to channel semen into the female's ...

size, thus maturity is marked when it develops hardened claspers that are or more in length. Males reach maturity at a length between .

Mating

Observed mating between the species suggests biting plays an element and that mating occurs repeatedly. Behavioral observations include the male biting the female until it can get a firm grasp and subsequently wraps its body around the female for copulation. After copulation, the male releases his bite and both separate.

Egg-laying

The chain catshark prefers vertical structures for egg deposition and always deposits eggs in pairs. The interval between pairs of eggs ranges from a few minutes to 8 days. Development rates average 1 mm diameter per 7.7 days although temperature has also been seen to affect follicle development.

Sperm storage and egg cases

The female chain catshark is able to store sperm and lay eggs several days after initial copulation. The shark has been known to store sperm up to 843 days although, there are some circumstances of poor egg development in eggs laid later. It is suggested that this could be due to a number of factors including,

senescence Senescence () or biological aging is the gradual deterioration of functional characteristics in living organisms. The word ''senescence'' can refer to either cellular senescence or to senescence of the whole organism. Organismal senescence inv ...

, low sperm viability, or water quality factors. Egg cases found in the oviduct are soft, pale yellow and translucent. They also feature two coiled tendrils, a key adaptation which allows snagging on rocks or man made structures, providing grounding and safety. When deposited, they become hardened and become dark amber with white bands.

Embryos

Embryos take 8–12 months to develop due to temperature variations in the environment. The catshark lays eggs in their blastodisc form. The following exhibits a typical developmental timeline (measurements are embryo length): * – it has well-defined gill arches and has a thin ventral finfold * – dorsal and pelvic fin buds appear * – embryo has protruding eyes and well-developed gill filaments * – it has lost its translucency and develops slits in the egg case, allowing fluid exchange from surrounding seawater and the interior * – the finfold starts to decay * – the finfold and gill filaments are reduced or absent * – external appearance is complete but

yolk sac The yolk sac is a membranous sac attached to an embryo, formed by cells of the hypoblast layer of the bilaminar embryonic disc. This is alternatively called the umbilical vesicle by the Terminologia Embryologica (TE), though ''yolk sac'' is fa ...

is still being absorbed * – hatching

Fluorescence

The chain catshark is one of four

elasmobranch Elasmobranchii () is a subclass of Chondrichthyes or cartilaginous fish, including sharks (superorder Selachii), rays, skates, and sawfish (superorder Batoidea). Members of this subclass are characterised by having five to seven pairs of g ...

species shown to possesses biofluorescent properties. The researchers of the study examined the vision of ''Scyliorhinus retifer'' using microspectrophotometry and designed a "shark-eye" camera that yielded contrast information on areas where fluorescence is anatomically distributed on the shark. The repeated evolution of biofluorescence in elasmobranchs, coupled with a visual adaptation to detect it; and evidence that biofluorescence creates greater luminosity contrast with the surrounding background, highlights the potential importance of biofluorescence in elasmobranch behavior and biology. The key fluorecent pigments in the chain catshark and the

swell shark The swell shark (''Cephaloscyllium ventriosum'') is a catshark in the family Scyliorhinidae. It is found in the tropical and subtropical eastern Pacific Ocean from between central California to southern Mexico, with an additional population of ...

are a set of brominated

kynurenine -Kynurenine is a metabolite of the amino acid -tryptophan used in the production of niacin. Kynurenine is synthesized by the enzyme tryptophan dioxygenase, which is made primarily but not exclusively in the liver, and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenas ...

compounds that appear to be synthesized by the kynurenine pathway starting from 6-bromo-

tryptophan Tryptophan (symbol Trp or W) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Tryptophan contains an α-amino group, an α-carboxylic acid group, and a side chain indole, making it a polar molecule with a non-polar aromati ...

. The biochemical origin of 6-bromo-tryptophan in these species is not known.

Relationship with humans

The chain catshark is not currently fished for human consumption. The chain catshark has been described as "gorgeous", and this, combined with its small size, makes it a popular cold-water aquarium fish. It is frequently displayed and bred at

public aquarium A public aquarium (plural: ''public aquaria'' or ''public Water Zoo'') is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and plant specimens for public viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept ...

s. Research in shark behavior, including reproduction, has been done in chain catsharks kept in public aquariums or laboratories.