font settings and languages

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia
Languages:

Schroederichthys saurisqualus

(Lizard Catshark)

Overview

[ Back to top ]

Family : Cat sharks ; Oviparous [1].

Vulnerable
Threat status

Common Names

[ Back to top ]

Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Lizard Catshark

Common Names in Portuguese:

Tubarão-Lagartixa

Description

[ Back to top ]

Family Scyliorhinidae

Distribution: temperate and tropical seas . Usually elongated, catlike eyes with nictitating eyelids . Lower eyelid usually with longitudinal fold. Gill openings 5, the fifth over origin of pectoral fin. Two small, spineless dorsal fins. One of the largest family of sharks , occurring from the intertidal zone to the edges of the continental and insular shelves and down the slopes to depths greater than 2000 m. Spawns large eggs in tough egg-cases with tendrils . Some species are ovoviviparous. Feed mainly on invertebrates and small fishes .The family Scyliorhinidae belongs to the Class Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) and the Order Carcharhiniformes. It contains 15 genera and 89 species. It may be found in Marine environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are bearers. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is subcarangiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the Jurassic period. Etymology of this family name : Greek, skylla = a shark + Greek, rhinos = nose

Habitat

Biome: Saltwater . Bathydemersal .

Ecology: Maximum size observed is 67 cm total length (TL ) (females) and 61 cm TL (males). Females of 55 cm TL are sexually mature (Vooren, unpubl. data ).

The species is oviparous and uses patches of coral for egg-laying as evidenced by a catch of egg-laying females on a patch of the stony coral Dophelia pertusa in a trawl survey of its habitat in 2001 (Vooren, unpubl. data). The distribution of coral patches in the depth range of the species is unknown, but it is evident that such patches are naturally scarce and of small size, of the order of perhaps 100–1,000 m² only in the areas with smooth bottom , which has been studied by trawling . Coral patches may be more abundant on rough bottom, which has not been studied by trawling and which may be the preferred habitat of the species.[2]


List of Habitats:9.8Marine Neritic - Coral Reef 10.1Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m)

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Group expert : Compagno L.J.V.

Similar Species

[ Back to top ]

Members of the genus Schroederichthys

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 5 species and subspecies in this genus:

S. bivius (Narrowmouthed Catshark) · S. chilensis (Red-Spotted Cat Shark) · S. maculatus (Narrowstripe Pipefish) · S. saurisqualus (Lizard Catshark) · S. tenuis (Narrowmouthed Catshark)

More Info

[ Back to top ]

Further Reading

[ Back to top ]

Notes

[ Back to top ]

Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 02, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Dulvy, N.K. and J.D. Reynolds (1997). Evolutionary transitions among egg-laying, live-bearing and maternal inputs in sharks and rays. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 264:1309-1315. [back]
  2. Vooren, C.M. & Soto, J.M.R. 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 19, 2008. [back]
Last Revised: 7/2/2009