Saddle Carpetshark

About the Saddle Carpetshark

Also known as the Saddled Carpetshark, this rare, poorly-known shark species is native to temperate waters of the northwest Pacific. They can be found on the uppermost slopes at 250-290 metres in southwest Japan (Shikoku and Kyushu to Yakushima Island and the possibly Ryukyu Islands), 35°N – 24°N, 125°E – 135°E.

Biology:

The Saddled Carpetshark is distinguished by its nine boldly-marked saddle marks on the sides of the body. They grow to a maximum length of 48.5 cm, with females maturing at 44.5 cm and males at 36.7-40.7 cm. Anything else of the biology of this species is unknown, including behaviour and population information.

Conservation:

The IUCN Red List categorizes the Saddled Carpetshark as Data Deficient. More research is required to properly define the range, capture in fisheries, population and threats for this species.

This species is probably taken as bycatch of off-shore trawl fisheries and likely discarded, although no specific information is available on this capture.

There’s also no conservation actions in place due to the lack of data.

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Saddle Carpetshark Gallery