Freckled Catshark, Apristurus sinensis Chu & Hu 1981
Other Names: South China Catshark
Freckled Catshark, Apristurus sinensis. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
A dark brownish catshark with pale, loosely scattered flecks, greyish teeth, and translucent or black fin margins.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2023, Apristurus sinensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 30 Apr 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2619
Freckled Catshark, Apristurus sinensis Chu & Hu 1981
More Info
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Distribution |
Off Newcastle, New South Wales, to off Beachport, South Australia, including Tasmania, and SW of Esperance, Western Australia, to off Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea; also on the Norfolk Ridge in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Indo-Pacific: Madagascar, New Caledonia, Australia and New Zealand region. |
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Features |
Vertebrae 40–42 (monospondylous). Snout moderately long, broad, length less than 4 times eye diameter and less than width, very flattened and bell-shaped anterior to nostrils; teeth very small, bristle-like, closely spaced, with distinct ridges and with 3–4 cusps, central cusps only slightly larger than adjacent cusps; denticles tricuspidate, closely spaced; 1st dorsal fin smaller than 2nd; anal fin triangular, low and long, its height much less than its base length; pectoral fins medium-sized, longer than head width near mouth. |
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Biology |
The reproductive mode is oviparous with females producing one egg per oviduct. |
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Etymology |
The species is named sinensis in reference to the type locality. |
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Species Citation |
Apristurus sinensis Chu & Hu, in Chu, et al. 1981, Oceanologia et Limnologia Sinica 12(2): 103, fig. 1. Type locality: South China Sea. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2023 |
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Resources |
Freckled Catshark, Apristurus sinensis Chu & Hu 1981
References
Chu, Y.-T & Hu, A.-S. in Chu, Y.-T., Meng, Q.-W., Hu, A.-S & Li, S. 1981. Description of four new species, a new genus and a new family of elasmobranchiate fishes from deep sea of the South China Sea. Oceanologia et Limnologia Sinica 12(2): 103-116
Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125. Rome : FAO Vol. 4(2) 251-655 pp.
Compagno, L.J.V., Dando, M. & Fowler, S. 2005. A Field Guide to the Sharks of the World. London : Collins 368 pp.
Huveneers, C. & Duffy, C.A.J. 2015. Apristurus sinensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T44225A70709147. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T44225A70709147.en. Accessed on 21 August 2023.
Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls. (as Apristurus sp. A)
Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp.
Nakaya, K., Sato, K. & Iglesias, S.P. 2008. Occurrence of Apristurus melanoasper from the south Pacific, Indian and South Atlantic Oceans (Carcharhiniformes: Scyliorhinidae). pp. 61-74 in Last, P.R., White, W.T. & Pogonoski, J.J. (eds). Descriptions of new Australian chondrichthyans. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper No. 022: 1-358. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/118353?index=1
White, W. 2008. Shark Families Heterodontidae to Pristiophoridae. pp. 32-100 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp. (as Apristurus sp. 1)
