The freckled catshark (''Scyliorhinus haeckelii'') is a

catshark Catshark may refer to: * Scyliorhinidae, a family of ground sharks, many species of which are commonly referred to as "catshark". * Pentanchidae, a family of ground sharks with the overall name deepwater catsharks, but many species are referred ...

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 ...

Scyliorhinidae Scyliorhinidae is a Family (biology), family of sharks, one of a few families whose members share the common name catsharks, belonging to the Order (biology), order Carcharhiniformes, the ground sharks. Although they are generally known as cats ...

. It is found on the

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 ...

and upper slope from the western

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

from western

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, 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 11° N and 32° S. However, specimens from the northern part of this range probably refer to other species.

Description

The freckled catshark ranges from 10 to 13 cm long as a hatchling and can range from 25 to 60 cm as it reaches maturity. It is known for its long slender body and for its dark saddles with small black dots covering the dorsal area. The head of the shark contains no nasoral grooves and the small nasal flaps of the shark do not reach its mouth. Their mouth contains grooves on the lower lip only. The first dorsal fins are located behind the pelvic insertions and the second are located anterior to anal insertion. The second dorsal fin is smaller than the first.

Distribution and habitat

The freckled catshark inhabits the tropical Atlantic oceans at depths of (mostly below 250 m). They take refuge in the deep reefs or the upper slopes of the reef. They are

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 deposit their egg cases on coral and sea-fan ocean floor. The egg sacks measure about .

Fisheries

Traditionally, this species is of no interest for fisheries. It is taken 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 juve ...

in bottom trawl and long-line fisheries. However, since early 2000s, it has attracted commercial interest in some areas of southern Brazil. Species-specific catch are not available.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2625954 freckled catshark Marine fish of Brazil Fish of Uruguay freckled catshark Taxa named by Alípio de Miranda-Ribeiro