False Catshark

Average size between 240 cm and 280 cm, total maximum size about 300 cm. Cat-like eyes, very large spiracles. Very large first dorsal fin with its origin opposite the rear ends of pectoral fins and the end is opposite the origin of the pelvic fins. Second dorsal fin is triangle-like, opposite to the anal fin. Soft body. Display a Dark brown coloration with somewhat darker fins.

Lives in deeper waters, mainly over the bottom. Shelf area or upper slope, down to a depth of 200 m to 1500 m. The large body cavity, enormous oil-filled liver, and soft musculature, fins, and skin of the false catshark suggest that it has a sluggish lifestyle, able to hover off the sea bottom at near-neutral buoyancy. It feeds on a wide variety of deepsea fishes and cephalopods, including cutthroat eels, grenadiers, snake mackerel, and lanternsharks, and its large mouth allows it to ingest items of considerable size. The stomach contents of some Pacific specimens also contained surface-dwelling fishes such as frigate mackerel, needlefishes, and pufferfishes, which were likely scavenged by the shark after sinking to the bottom. Notably, the stomach of a specimen from the Canary Islands contained mostly garbage, including potatoes, a pear, a plastic bag, and a soft drink can.

Reproduction is ovoviviparous, with females bearing litters of two (possibly four) pups measuring 120-150 cm (47-59 in) long. The gestation period is unknown, but is presumed to be over one year and possibly 2-3 years. The embryos exhibit a modified form of intrauterine oophagy in which they ingest yolk fragments, which are transferred to an external yolk sac and used in the last stages of gestation.[5] The females produce enormous numbers of eggs, some 20,000 per ovary for a 2.7 meter (9 ft) specimen. Males mature at about 2.4 meters (8 feet) long and females at 2.8 meters (9 ft).

Appearance

Biology

Reproduction