Pygmy Ribbontail Catshark

About the Pygmy Ribbontail Catshark

Pygmy ribbontail catshark

The pygmy ribbontail catshark is one of the smallest sharks in the world. Adults are about 24 cm long. Their thin and have round mouth. They’re found or near mud bottoms in the Indian Oceans and some isolated areas of the Western pacific. Their main prey are fish, but they’re also known to eat crustaceans and squid.

These sharks are ovoviviparous, meaning it produces young by means of eggs that hatch inside the mother’s body, and give birth to one or two relatively large pups.

 It is reportedly common off India where it is a regular bycatch in the deepwater shrimp trawl fishery. Given the intensity of that fishery, it is possible that the species has declined locally, although no data are available. There are also heavy trawl fisheries in Southeast Asia. The species has a low fecundity of 1–2 young per litter, which suggests it has low biological productivity. The Pygmy Ribbontail Catshark probably has some refuge at depth off southern India and the Andaman Islands beyond the current limits of trawl fisheries (~500 m/(1,640 ft). Furthermore, there are currently no deepsea trawl fisheries in Tanzania or in the Gulf of Aden, so no threats are evident in those parts of its range. Further research is needed regarding fisheries interactions with this species in Southeast Asia. Due to its limited catchability in many other types of fisheries and the lack of deepwater trawling in much of its range, this species is not suspected to be undergoing a reduction in population size which would be close to meeting thresholds for a threatened assessment; therefore, the Pygmy Ribbontail Catshark is assessed as Least Concern. Catches should be monitored off India, in Southeast Asia, and anywhere within its range that deepwater fisheries develop. No utilization or commercial trade of this species is currently known to exist. There are no species-specific protections or conservation measures in place. However, India has a seasonal trawl ban from June to July each year while in Sri Lanka there is no trawl fishery, which might benefit the species. Further research is required on distribution, life history, trends in abundance, and threats. Monitoring of bycatch at the species level should be undertaken.

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