| Bristly catshark | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Selachii |
| Order: | Carcharhiniformes |
| Family: | Pentanchidae |
| Genus: | Bythaelurus |
| Species: | B. hispidus |
| Binomial name | |
| Bythaelurus hispidus (Alcock, 1891) | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Thebristly catshark (Bythaelurus hispidus) iis a species ofshark belonging to thefamilyPentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This shark is found from southeastern India and theAndaman Islands, betweenlatitudes15° N and5° N, at depths between 200 and 300 m. Its length usually ranges from around 20–26 cm (7.9–10.2 in), and it is regarded as the smallest catshark ofBythaelurus.[2]
Bristly catsharks were first discovered byAlfred William Alcock in theIndian Ocean in 1891.[3] The specific word, hispidus, is thought to represent the papillae that generally appeared in species live in Andaman Sea.[2] However, it was not named asalcockii. Instead, the species namedHalaelurus alcockii, also known asBythaelurus alcockii, is another kind of catshark commonly known asArabian catshark discovered by a German in 1913.[4]
The bristly catshark is a small species among the shark family, and as the name suggests, it has lengthened, cat-like eyes on the side that help it to be easily distinguished. The long abdomen, rounded snout with a parabolic knoblike tip, and short wrinkle labial also differentiate it from other catsharks. Instead of having patterned appearance like most other catsharks do, the bristly catshark has no dark spots nor colored stripes.[5] There are three more species ofHalaelurus share this characteristic:canescens,dawsoni, andlutarius,[2] while the bristly catshark is usually in pale brown or white color.[5]Among these three species, bristly catsharks relate theH. lutarius the most. They share many similarities, except that bristly catsharks are a little smaller with larger eyes. Also, bristly catsharks were found to have papillae on the tongue, while theH. lutarius lack the presence of papillae.[2]The bristly catsharks live in the deep sea and are restricted toIndia,Sri Lanka,Thailand, and theAndaman Islands on theouter continental shelf andupper continental slope at 250–1262 m.[4][6]
The diameter of the eggs ranges from 2-4 mm in female with functional but immature ovary; 15–21 mm in female with well-developed ovary.[2]
Young bristly catsharks prey on crustaceans more often, such as deep-sea mud shrimp, than other fishes, but further observation is needed to better understand the forage structure of bristly catsharks.[7]
