White-saddled Catshark

About the White-saddled Catshark

The White-saddled catshark is a species of ground shark found in the western Atlantic off the coast of Honduras, Panama and Colombia. 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.

They’re oviparous, egg laying, but the average litter size is unknown. Other sharks of the same family lay two eggs at a time so these sharks are presumed to do the same. They grow to a maximum length of 47cm/1 ft 6.5 in. They live in deepwater and have been found at depths of  274 – 457 m/899.0 to 1,499.3 ft.

This species mostly occurs outside the depth range of current fishing activities and therefore is not suspected to be taken as bycatch anywhere in its range. Population trend is unknown, although it is suspected to be stable based on the low level of fishing effort within its range. Therefore, there is nothing to infer or suspect population reduction at this time and the species is assessed as Least Concern.

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White-saddled Catshark Gallery