Chain catshark
Scyliorhinus retifer
FAMILY
Scyliorhinidae
TAXONOMY
Scyllium retiferum Garman, 1881, off Virginia, United States.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
Spanish: Alitán mallero.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Coloration unique, composed of numerous brown saddles with a conspicuous internal network pattern that also is present over the pectoral and caudal fins. First dorsal fin behind origin of pelvic fins and larger than the second dorsal fin, back somewhat arched. Elongated, slitlike eyes. Reaches about 19.7 in (50 cm) in length.
DISTRIBUTION
Present in the western North Atlantic from southern New England to Florida; found in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida south to Nicaragua.
HABITAT
A mostly deepwater species, demersal on the outer continental shelf to the upper slope region, from 29 to 1,800 ft (73–550 m) in depth.
BEHAVIOR
Unknown.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Presumably feeds on fishes and invertebrates, as it lives mostly in close association with the bottom, but full stomach contents have yet to be examined. Cephalopod beaks were found in one specimen.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Oviparous (egg laying), but most details concerning its reproduction are unknown. Males mature sexually at about 14.6–16.1 in (37–41 cm) in length, females from 13.8 to 18.5 in (35–47 cm). Length at birth is about 3.9 in (10 cm).
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Captured occasionally as by-catch in bottom trawls but is not consumed and is discarded. Not dangerous, owing to its size and habitat.
