The New Zealand catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks, in the order Carcharhiniformes. This species is endemic to in the deep waters around New Zealand. Its length is up to 45 centimetres (18 in). The New Zealand catshark is a small, little-known deep water bottom shark. It is dark brown around the top with a few widely spaced pale spots, and white below. It feeds on bottom-living crustaceans. It is also completely harmless to humans.
The white-spotted Izak or African spotted catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. It is found in the western Indian Ocean off the coasts of Natal, South Africa, southern Mozambique, Madagascar, Kenya, and Tanzania between latitudes 4° S and 37° S, at depths of between 220 and 440 m. It can grow up to 35 cm in length.
The Arabian catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. It can grow up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long, and lives in open seas. It is only known from a single specimen, now lost, which was found on the continental slope of the Arabian Sea.
The spotless catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks> this species is found in the South China Sea at depths between 535 and 1,020 m on the continental slope. Its length is up to 71 centimetres (28 in).
The bristly catshark iis a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This shark is found from southeastern India and the Andaman Islands, between latitudes 15° N and 5° N, at depths between 200 and 300 m. Its length usually ranges from around 20–26 cm (7.9–10.2 in), and it is regarded as the smallest catshark of Bythaelurus.
The dusky catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This shark is endemic to the southeast Pacific Ocean, off the coasts of Peru and Chile. It grows to a maximum length of 70 cm (28 in), and is oviparous like many other chondrichthyans in the Indo-Pacific.
The smallbelly catshark is a shark of the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species is found in the western Indian Ocean near Somalia, the Gulf of Aden, and Oman, at depths between 1,300 and 1,840 m. Its length is up to 34 cm, although this measurement is of an immature specimen. The smallbelly catshark is not well known. It is found on continental slopes, and is probably caught by bottom trawlers. The reproduction of the smallbelly catshark is oviparous.
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.
Bythaelurus is a genus of sharks belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. The genus Bythaelurus Compagno 1988 was first described as a subgenus of Halaelurus Gill 1862 based on several morphological characteristics including a soft body with thin skin, a bluntly rounded snout without a pointed, knob-like tip, and eyes not noticeably elevated on the dorsal surface of the head. Members of this genus are generally found in deep water and have more somber body coloration.
The broadhead catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. The only specimen, the holotype, was found off Madagascar at a depth between 425 and 500 m.
The mud catshark or brown catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. It is found in Mozambique and Somalia. Its natural habitat is the open seas of the western Indian Ocean, from Mozambique to Somalia, between latitudes 13° N and 29° S, at depths between 340 and 765 m. It can grow up to 34 centimetres (13 in) long.
The sombre catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. It is known from a single specimen south of Rote Island, northwestern Australia. Its natural habitat is the open seas.
The phallic catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. It is found on or near the ocean floor, in the deep waters off New Caledonia and Vanuatu. A slender species attaining a length of 46 cm (18 in), it is characterized by a long caudal fin bearing a crest of enlarged dermal denticles along the dorsal margin, and very long claspers in adult males. This shark is gray-colored, with four dark saddles along the back and tail.
The jaguar catshark, also known as the Galápagos catshark, is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks, endemic to the Galápagos Islands. The species was first described in 2012. This catshark is about 30 cm (12 in) long when mature, and it is colored blackish-brown with an asymmetrical pattern of light spots.
The dusky snout catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species is found from the Southwest Indian Ridge, southwestern Indian Ocean. The specimens were collected from 89–1,443 m (292–4,734 ft) depth in both bottom trawls and midwater trawls. The shallowest catch record of the new species, possibly at 89 m (292 ft), came from a midwater trawl. This species can be distinguished from its two closest congeners, B. giddingsi and B. lutarius, by a combination of prominent comb-like dermal denticles along the upper caudal-fin margin, absence of oral papillae, uniform body coloration, and noticeable dark dusky snout; Bythaelurus giddingsi has oral papillae present and a variegated color pattern, while B. lutarius lacks a caudal crest of enlarged denticles and matures at a much smaller size than the new species.
The narrowhead catshark is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species is described based on one adult and one juvenile male specimen from off Tanzania and Mozambique in the western Indian Ocean. The species differs from its congeners by its slender head and snout, which is only slightly bell-shaped in dorsoventral view without distinct lateral indention. It further differs from B. clevai by attaining a smaller maximum size and having a color pattern of fewer and smaller blotches, larger oral papillae, a shorter snout, and broader claspers without knob-like apex and with a smaller envelope and a subtriangular exorhipidion. Compared to B. hispidus, the species has a longer snout, a longer dorsal-caudal space, broader clasper without knob-like apex, and fewer vertebral centra. In contrast to B. lutarius, B. tenuicephalus attains a smaller size and has a blotched coloration, numerous oral papillae, shorter anterior nasal flaps, a longer caudal fin, a shorter pelvic anal space, and shorter and broader claspers.
Apristurus manocheriani, Manocherian's catshark, is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species was originally described by Justin A. Cordova and David A. Ebert in 2021.
Bythaelurus bachi, commonly known as Bach's catshark, is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This shark is found on the southern Madagascar Ridge in the southwestern Indian Ocean. This stout-bodied catshark is thought to inhabit the deep sea at depths of 910–1,365 m (2,986–4,478 ft).
Bythaelurus vivaldii, Vivaldi's catshark, is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This catshark is found in Northwestern Indian Ocean, specifically in Somalia. It presumably lives in the depths of up to 628 m (2,060 ft).
