Springer’s Sawtail Catshark

About the Springer’s Sawtail Catshark

The Springer’s sawtail catshark is a species of ground shark found in the Western Atlantic from Cuba to the Antilles at depths of 450 to 700 m. Like all members of the catshark shark family, they’re bottom feeders, have elongated cat-like eyes, and two small dorsal fins set far back. They’re mostly nocturnal and do their hunting at night. It’s easy to tell them apart by the dark stripes in front of their first dorsal fin, and the dark dorsal saddles behind it.

They’re oviparous. and grow to a maximum length of 48 cm, but little else is known about their biology.

They’re named after famous taxonomist Stewart Springer. Their tails have spiny dermal denticles, which give them a saw-like appearance, hence the word sawtail.

There is not enough confirmation to assess their population health. Their conservation status is “Data Deficient.”

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