Australian spotted catshark

Asymbolus analis

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth37–120 m
Water temperature14–29 °C
Best monthsFebruary, March, and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

The Australian spotted catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species is found only around Australia between 32 and 38°S, at depths between 10 and 180 m. It can grow up to 90 cm (35 in). Females of this species were observed as being reproductive year round. They are also confirmed as being a single oviparous species.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Australian spotted catshark”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 1 records
February: 31 records
March: 30 records
April: 13 records
May: 28 records
June: 19 records
July: 21 records
August: 20 records
September: 16 records
October: 27 records
November: 39 records
December: 15 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 37–120 m · Deepest record: 202 m

0–10 m: 2 records
10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 9 records
30–40 m: 13 records
40–50 m: 51 records
50–60 m: 49 records
60–70 m: 20 records
70–80 m: 3 records
80–90 m: 7 records
90–100 m: 8 records
100–110 m: 12 records
110+ m: 42 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 14–29 °C

12–14 °C: 5 records
14–16 °C: 25 records
16–18 °C: 28 records
18–20 °C: 154 records
20–22 °C: 62 records
22–24 °C: 17 records
24–26 °C: 3 records
26–28 °C: 0 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: Australian spotted catshark, Dark-spotted Catshark, Darkspotted Catshark, Grey-spotted Catshark, Grey Spotted Catshark, Spotted Cat Shark, Spotted Dogfish

Names in 2 more languages

German: Australischer Flecken-Katzenhai
Japanese: コクテンミナミトラザメ

Other scientific names: Asymbolis analis, Halaelurus analis, Scyllium anale

Similar species

Orange-spotted Catshark
Asymbolus rubiginosus
Blotched Catshark
Asymbolus funebris
Starry Catshark
Asymbolus galacticus
Spotted Cat Shark
Asymbolus occiduus
Pale Spotted Catshark
Asymbolus pallidus
Dwarf Catshark
Asymbolus parvus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
370 open-data records from 1873 to 2024.

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