The brown catshark is commonly found in the Pacific Ocean, ranging from the northern Pacific waters off the coast of British Columbia and south to the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. They may live as far south as Ecuador and Peru. Brown catsharks are deep-water sharks that live on the outer continental shelf and the upper slope. They have been known to live at depths ranging from 30 to 650 m and live on the bottom, usually in muddy or sandy areas. The brown catshark, when originally described, was called Catulus brunneus.
Apristurus is a genus of catsharks, the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. The species in this genus are commonly known as the ghost or demon catsharks.
The deepwater catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This shark is found in the western Atlantic from Delaware Bay to Suriname, and in the eastern Atlantic from Morocco to northwest Africa. An important key factor to understanding these creatures is ageing, many deepwater Apristurus profundorum have poorly calcified vertebrae that lack visible growth bands, and most do not have dorsal fin spines that can be used for ageing. Other methods, such as captive growth and tag-recapture, are also limited in their suitability for deepwater chondrichthyans due to difficulties in the deep sea.
The white ghost catshark is a shark of the catshark family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This shark is found in deep water in the northeast Atlantic between latitudes 57°N and 58°N. A deep-water catshark known from the eastern North Atlantic from depths of 1,014 to 1,800 m, it is known from only a limited number of specimens. It reaches a maximum of 54 cm or 1.7 ft total length which is a medium size for the Apristurus genus.
The shortnose demon catshark is a shark of the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species is found only in deep water in the East China Sea. Its length is up to 40 cm. A. internatus is known only from the holotype and a paratype, both caught in the East China Sea, probably taken as bycatch in deepwater trawl fisheries. The reproduction of this catshark is oviparous.
The bulldog catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks/ This shark is found in the deep waters of the East China Sea and in the Northwest Pacific. In New Zealand waters it is found at the Reinga Ridge, the West Norfolk Ridge, the Hikurangi Trough and the Chatham Rise as well as on the Campbell Plateau.
The South China catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This catshark is known only from the holotype, which was taken from the South China Sea at a depth of 537 m (1,762 ft). Its length is 42 cm (17 in), but this measurement was taken from an immature specimen. The reproduction of the South China catshark is oviparous.
The largenose catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. The largenose catshark is found on the upper continental slopes in the eastern Pacific, from the Gulf of Panama to Ecuador and central Chile, between 9°N and 28°S. It can grow up to 70 cm. Its reproduction is oviparous. This nose shark is considered to be a harmless species. It is known to originate from the Gulf of Panama, Ecuador, and Central Chile.
The ghost catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species is found on the continental slopes in the northwest Atlantic off Massachusetts, the northeast Atlantic from the Porcupine Bank west of Ireland and the southern Atlantic off Cape Town, at depths between 600 and 1,900 metres.
The spatulasnout catshark, also known as the Borneo catshark or flatnose catshark, is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catshark. This shark is found in the western Pacific between 35°N and 1° N. Its length is up to 80 cm (31 in).
The spongehead catshark is a rare species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species was only known from two specimens taken in the Pacific Ocean: an adult from near Bird Island, Hawaii, and a juvenile from the Banda Sea off Sulawesi. They are found on or near the bottoms of insular continental slopes, at depths of 570 to 1,480 m. In 2002, the spongehead catshark was seen alive in its natural habitat for the first time, from the submersible Pisces IV at a depth of about a kilometer, on the Northampton Seamount off the northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
The broadnose catshark is a shark of the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. The holotype and only specimen being found in deep water in the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean between 16 and 10°N. Its length is around 26 cm, although this measurement was taken from an immature specimen. The reproduction of this catshark is oviparous. The threats are not exactly known but it may be deepwater fisheries.
The longnose catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This shark is found in the eastern central Pacific from central and southern California and the Gulf of California, between latitudes 38° N and 23° N, at depths down to 1,890. Its length is up to 58 cm.
The longhead catshark or smoothbelly catshark is a species of shark, family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This shark has a patchy distribution in the Indo-Pacific from Mozambique to southern Japan to northern Australia. It is found in water between 500 and 1,140 m deep. This species grows to 59 cm (23 in) long and is characterized by its extremely long and narrow snout, short abdomen, and long anal and caudal fins. In addition, a large area of the anterior ventral portion of its body lacks dermal denticles. The longhead catshark is oviparous and the only known cartilaginous fish that is normally hermaphroditic, with the majority of individuals having both the functional reproductive organs of one sex and the undeveloped reproductive organs of the opposite sex.
The roughskin catshark is a species of catshark in the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species is found near Australia and New Zealand. Its natural habitat is the open seas. This species belongs to a genus of poorly known deep-water catsharks.
The Pinocchio catshark is a species of catshark in the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species is found in Australia and possibly New Zealand. Its natural habitat is the open seas. It belongs to a genus of poorly known deep-water sharks. Very little is known of its biology. Possibly a widely distributed deep-water catshark found along the Australian continental slope at depths of 590 to 1,000 m, it consists of several distinct populations which may be separate species. Although part of the distribution includes heavily fished areas, particularly off southeastern Australia, much of its range is in unfished areas. Given the taxonomic uncertainty of the separate populations, it is not possible to assess the conservation status of this species at this time. However, deep-water demersal trawl fisheries are expanding in the region, and the situation should be reassessed following taxonomic clarification.
The milk-eye catshark (Apristurus nakayai) is a species of shark in the family Scyliorhinidae found in Coriolis Bank off western New Caledonia. Its natural habitat is the open seas. The new deep-water catshark, Apristurus nakayai, is described from northern New Caledonian waters.
Garrick's catshark is a species of shark in the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species is found in the waters of New Zealand. Its natural habitat is the open seas. The new deep-water catshark, Apristurus garricki, is described from the waters of northern New Zealand. It is named in honour of Jack Garrick.
Fedorov's catshark is a shark of the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This shark has oviparous reproduction. This is a very poorly known species, with less than 30 specimens reported in the scientific literature. Almost nothing is known of its biology. This species may be endemic to northern Japanese waters, where it is taken in water around 1,200 m deep. However, accurate identification of Apristurus species is particularly difficult, and further research is required to determine its geographical and bathymetrical distribution.
The shortbelly catshark is a shark of the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. It is found in the Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean. This species most closely resembles the western Atlantic species Apristurus canutus, but is distinguishable in having greater nostril length than internarial width and longer claspers in adult males.
