Common Name
Rivero's Catshark
Year Described
Bigelow and Schroeder, 1944
Identification
An elongate, soft-bodied shark with a long snout (7-9% TL). A conspicuous oval-shaped series of pores (4 rows) is present on the ventral snout. Labial furrows large and conspicuous. Upper and lower jaw teeth similar; males with a single cusp and females/juveniles with 3-5 cusps (central one usually largest). Short-trunked: pectoral base to pelvic fin distance less than twice the inter-dorsal distance. There are two dorsal fins: the second being 2 times larger than the first and inserted over the rear half of the anal base. The first dorsal fin is inserted over the rear half of the pelvic fin base. The distance between the dorsal fins is much shorter than snout length. The anal fin base is long (14-16% TL). The pectoral fin is low on the body and is squared-off on the margin. The caudal fin is long with a weak lower lobe. Pelvic fin tips are separated from anal fin origin. Denticles sparse and weakly overlapping, with three sharp points (central one longest), a strong central ridge, a rounded anterior margin, and a dense scaly covering.
Color
Uniformly chocolate brown over body and fins.
Size
Mature adults around 39cm. Maximum size to <50cm.
Habitat
Deep waters from 600-1,000m.
Range
Tropical western Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico into the Caribbean Sea
References
Castro, J.I. 2011. The Sharks of North America. Oxford University Press, 640 pp.
Compagno, L., M. Dando, and S. Fowler. 2005. Sharks of the World. Princeton University Press, 480 pp.