Natal shyshark
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| Natal shyshark | ||||||||||||||
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| Haploblepharus kistnasamyi Human & Compagno, 2006 |
The Natal shyshark, Haploblepharus kistnasamyi, is a cat shark of the family Scyliorhinidae found in South Africa from Cape Agulhas to Natal. Its length is up to 50 cm.
The Natal shyshark is found in inshore waters of the continental shelf, sometimes in the surf zone or on rocky reefs. The head is stocky, broad and flat, the body is slender with large nostrils, and the upper caudal fin lobe is rounded. Greatly expanded anterior nasal flaps reach the mouth. The gill slits are on the upper sides of the body.
Coloration is a cream body with darker brown H-shaped dorsal saddles and irregular white spots, and white below.
This species was formerly considered to be a geographic variant of the puffadder shyshark, Haploblepharus edwardsii.
[edit] References
- Compagno, Dando, & Fowler, Sharks of the World, Princeton University Press, New Jersey 2005 ISBN 0-691-12072-2
