Blackmouth catshark
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| Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810 |
The blackmouth catshark, Galeus melastomus, is a cat shark of the family Scyliorhinidae found in the northeast Atlantic from the Faeroe Islands and Trondheim, Norway southward to Senegal, at depths down to 1,900 m. Its length is up to 90 cm.
The blackmouth catshark is found on the outer continental shelves and upper slopes, feeding mainly on bottom invertebrates, including shrimps and cephalopods, but also on small pelagic bony fishes (lanternfishes) and other small elasmobranchs. It is utilized fresh and dried-salted for human consumption, and for leather.
Coloration is a striking pattern of 15 to 18 dark saddles, blotches and circular spots on the back and tail, with white edges to the fins. The mouth cavity is blackish. There is a distinct crest of enlarged dermal denticles along the upper margin of the elongated tail.
Reproduction is oviparous, with up to 13 eggs present in the oviducts at one time.
[edit] References
- "Galeus melastomus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. July 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- Compagno, Dando, & Fowler, Sharks of the World, Princeton University Press, New Jersey 2005 ISBN 0-691-12072-2
