The flapnose houndshark (''Scylliogaleus quecketti'') is a

houndshark The Triakidae or houndsharks are a family of ground sharks, consisting of about 40 species in nine genera. In some classifications, the family is split into two subfamilies, with the genera ''Mustelus'', '' Scylliogaleus'' and '' Triakis'' in t ...

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 ...

Triakidae, and the only member of the genus ''Scylliogaleus''. It is found in the waters off

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, in the western

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

between

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic 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 t ...

s 27 and 33°S. This shark is estimated to be 2 to 3 feet in length. They are gray with a white underside, and they have a blunt nose with large fused nasal flaps. They have small pebble like teeth and their first and second dorsal fin are the same size. They feed primarily on crustaceans such as crabs, shrimps, lobsters and some molluscs like squid. Flapnose houndsharks are viviparous and have low fecundity having just two to four pups in a litter. After gestating for nine to ten months, females give birth to pups that are about 34 cm long. Newborn flapnose houndsharks have white coloured edges on their dorsal, anal and caudal fin. There have only been 30 recorded specimens. Not seen by biologists since 1902, one was captured in 2020 on the show '' Extinct or Alive''. It was tagged with a pop-up tracking sensor and released.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2341869 flapnose houndshark Marine fish of South Africa Endemic fish of South Africa Vulnerable fish Vulnerable biota of Africa flapnose houndshark