Atlantic Sawtail Catshark

About the Atlantic Sawtail Catshark

The Atlantic Sawtail Catshark is a small shark species found in and and around the Strait of Gibraltar. It lives at depths of 300 to 700 m and feeds mostly on small bony fish and crustaceans. It resembles the blackmouth catshark, and they were thought to be the same species until 2007, when DNA tests showed they were separate species. Like the blackmouth catshark, the Atlantic sawtail catshark has a marbled pattern. Its body is light brown with dark brown blotches around its back and tail. They have teeth-like scales on the top side of their tail. Adults grow up to 45 cm in length.

These sharks are oviparous and can carry up to nine eggs at a time. The eggs are just a few centimeters long and hatch quickly after being laid. The male pups become sexually mature when they’re about 33 cm long and females when they’re 37 cm long.

Atlantic sawtail catshark populations seem to be stable, but since they region they inhabit is heavily fished, they could become threatened. At this time the IUCN considers them not threatened.

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