Western African catshark

About the Western African catshark

The West African catshark is a species of ground shark found in eastern Atlantic at depths of 45-500m/148–1,640.4 ft. Like all members of the catshark family, they’re bottom feeders, have elongated cat-like eyes, and two small dorsal fins set far back. They’re mostly nocturnal and often sleep in groups during the day. Their diet consists of bony fishes and bottom-dwelling crustacean and cephalopods.

They’re presumed to be oviparous but the average litter size is unknown. Males become mature at 65cm/2.13 ft but the size of females at maturity is also unknown. They grow to a maximum length of at least 76cm/ 2.49 ft.

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

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