South Africa country information

Common names: Tier-kathaai, Tiger cat shark, Tiger catshark
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: no regulations | Ref: van der Elst, R., 1993
Uses: gamefish: yes;
Comments: Ranges from Cape Agulhas (possibly Saldanha) to East London (common). Type-locality questionable because no other specimens have been found in Natal waters (Ref. 5510). Caught by shore and skiboat anglers and by trawlers. Also Ref. 244, 12484.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Compagno, L.J.V., D.A. Ebert and M.J. Smale, 1989
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Holbiche tigrée, Pejegato atigrado, 虎纹梅花鲨, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Pentanchidae (Deepwater catsharks)
Etymology: Halaelurus: halos (Gr.), sea; ailouros (Gr.), cat, probably an allusion to the vernacular “catshark,” so named for its cat-like eyes. (See ETYFish); natalensis: -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: the coast of Natal, South Africa, type locality. (See ETYFish).
More on author: Regan.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range 0 - 172 m (Ref. 5578). Subtropical; 33°S - 35°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Southeast Atlantic: Cape Agulhas to East London in South Africa. Until recently, two species were confused under this name, the present one and the recently described Halaelurus lineatus (Ref. 244).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 244); 47.0 cm TL (female)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. A catshark with a prominent upturned knob on the snout, a broad head, and with no spots on the body (Ref. 5578). Yellow-brown in color, with pairs of broad, vertical, dark brown stripes outlining dusky saddles (Ref. 5578), cream ventrally (Ref. 5510).

Found on the continental shelf, from close inshore to deeper water (Ref. 244). Feeds mainly on small bony fishes and crustaceans, also cephalopods and small elasmobranchs (Ref. 244).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous, with 6 to 11 egg-cases per oviduct (commonly 6 to 9) at a time (Ref. 244). Egg cases retained until embryos are well-advanced (Ref. 5578).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

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. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Vulnerable (VU) (A2bcd); Date assessed: 01 August 2019

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; gamefish: yes

FAO(Publication : search) | FishSource |

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 15.7 - 21.9, mean 18 (based on 30 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5078 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00355 (0.00176 - 0.00714), b=3.09 (2.91 - 3.27), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.2 ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Moderate vulnerability (37 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Low.

Halaelurus natalensis (Regan, 1904)