Slender Sawtail Catshark, Galeus gracilis Compagno & Stevens 1993
Other Names: Slender Sawtail Shark
A Slender Sawtail Catshark, Galeus gracilis. Source: CSIRO National Fish Collection. License: CC BY Attribution
Summary:
A small slender catshark with bold saddle-like markings on the body and on the tail before the caudal fin. The species lacks dark markings on the terminal and hypural caudal-fin lobes.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2025, Galeus gracilis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 12 Jul 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1416
Slender Sawtail Catshark, Galeus gracilis Compagno & Stevens 1993
More Info
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Distribution |
Patchy distribution between Cape Cuvier and Port Hedland and the Northwest Shelf, Western Australia, to north of Melville Island, Northern Territory, and east to off Cape York, Queensland. The species is demersal on the upper continental slope. |
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Features |
Monospondylous vertebrae 33-37, precaudal vertebrae 74-79. Mouth lining dusky to dark. |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin gracilis (= slender, gracile), "in reference to the slim proportions of this little shark". |
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Species Citation |
Galeus gracilis Compagno & Stevens 1993, Records of the Australian Museum 45(2): 174, figs 1-9, 13E. Type locality: Upper slope north of Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia, 9°49'S, 130°15'E, depth 290 m. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2025 |
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Resources |
Slender Sawtail Catshark, Galeus gracilis Compagno & Stevens 1993
References
Compagno, L.J.V., Dando, M. & Fowler, S. 2005. A Field Guide to the Sharks of the World. London : Collins 368 pp.
Compagno, L.J.V. & Niem, V.H. 1998. Families Scyliorhinidae, Proscylliidae. pp. 1279-1292 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 2 687-1396 pp.
Compagno, L J.V. & Stevens, J.D. 1993. Galeus gracilis n. sp., a new sawtail catshark from Australia, with comments on the systematics of the genus Galeus Rafinesque, 1810 (Carcharhiniformes: Scyliorhinidae). Records of the Australian Museum 45(2): 171-194 https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.45.1993.133
Kyne, P.M. & Cavanagh, R.D. 2016. Galeus gracilis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41812A68623691. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41812A68623691.en. Accessed on 24 June 2025.
Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls. (as Galeus sp. A)
Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp. Seafood Services Australia 2008.
White, W.T. & Ko'ou, A. 2018. An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of Papua New Guinea. Zootaxa 4411(1): 1-81
