Family ProcilliidaeFinback Catsharks

Family Characters

• Small sharks, usually less than 1 meter

• Two spineless dorsal fins, anal fin

• First dorsal anterior of pelvic fin origin

• Long, ribbon-like caudal fin – Smooth margin and subterminal notch, low rise above body axis

• Elongate “cat-eyes” with nictitating eyelids

• Spiral intestines

Eridacnis sinuans

Eridacnis barbouri

Ctenacis fehlmanni - Harlequin catshark *

Eridacnis radcliffei - Pygmy ribbontail catshark

Smallest of the Carcharhinidae 15-19cm

Eridacnis sinuans - African ribbontail catshark *

Eridacnis barbouri - Cuban ribbontail catshark *

Largest of the Procilliidae, 200cm

Proscyllium habereri - Graceful catshark

Proscyllium venustum – (Chinese)

Proscyllium magnificum – Magnificent catshark

Gollum attenuatus - Slender smooth-hound * Or in Pseudotriakidae,

debate dates to 1954

* named by Compagno, 1973, 1984

4 genera, 8 species

Differences from Catsharks and Pseudotrikidae

• Dorsal fin origin anterior of pelvic fin origin– Nearer to Pectoral margin

• Tall, upright dorsal – Pseudotrikidae elongated

dorsal

• Reproduction– Scyliorhinidae: oviparous, – Procillids: viviparous

Reproduction

• Yolk-sac viviparous– Some debate in 2 genus (Ctenacis and Procillius) but little known

• Sexual Maturity: 70 cm in Gollum attenuatus

• Litter size: where reported, 2 pups/litter

• Pups: measure ~ 10 cm in E. radcliffei– an 18cm female: 1 - 2 pups, 11cm long– G. attenuatus: 100cm female, 44cm young

Embryonic development in Gollum attenuatus

•Mature ovary produces large number of fertilized ova

•One ova develops into embryo

•Remaining ova form external yolk sac

Feeding and Prey

• Feeding habits are poorly known

• Small cuspidate teeth • C. fehlmanni has a large

pharynx & specialized gill rakers possibly for small invertebrate prey

• Feed on small teleosts, benthic crustaceans and cephalopods

Different head morphologies could indicate varying prey-capture methods

Habitat and Distribution• Found in mainly in bathydemersal habitat, 50 – 750 m• Soft bottoms, continental shelf to slope• Tropical to warm-temperate distribution• Most with small ranges: Tropical Indo-Pacific, Tanzania,

Florida Straits to Cuba.

Map: E. radcliffei

Proscyllium venustum

Newest species Proscyllium magnificum

• One specimen, three observations– off of (Myanmar) Burma, E. Indian O., Andaman sea– Collected Dec. 3, 1989

• Some morphological character differences: – inter-dorsal length, second dorsal placement, labial furrow lengths

• Held in zoological collections of Australian Museums Ichthyology H 5887-01

• Naming competition currently at Fishbase.org – P. magnificum

P. Magnificum

• Awaiting second email response from Dr. Peter Last, identified P. Magnificum as new species in 2004.

• Hoping for a PDF of the Phuket Marine Biological Center research bulletin.

• Yano, Kazunari. 1993. Reproductive biology of the slender smoothhound, Gollum attenuatus,collected from New Zealand waters. Environ. Biol. Fishes 38: 59-71,1993.

• Last, P. R. and V. Vongpanich, 2004. A new finback catshark Proscyllium magnificum (Elasmobranchii: Proscylliidae) from the northeastern Indian Ocean. Phuket Mar. Biol. Center Res. Bull. Vol. 65, pp. 23-29.

• Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655.

• Bass, A.J. and L.J.V. Compagno, 1986. Proscylliidae. p.87-88. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

• Dulvy, N.K. and J.D. Reynolds. 1997. Evolutionary transitions among egg-laying, live-bearing and maternal inputs in sharks and rays. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. Vol 264, pp. 1309-1315.

• DeBruin, G.H.P., B.C. Russell and A. Bogusch. 1995. The Marine Fishery Resources of Sri Lanka. FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. FAO, Rome Italy. 446 pgs.