Common Name
Galbraith's Catshark
Year Described
undescribed
Identification
An elongate, soft-bodied shark with a relatively short snout. A conspicuous oval-shaped series of pores is present on the ventral snout. Labial furrows large and conspicuous. Upper and lower jaw teeth similar, with a large central cusp and 2-4 smaller lateral cusplets. Long-trunked: pectoral base to pelvic fin distance is more than twice the inter-dorsal distance. There are two dorsal fins: the second being slightly larger than the first and inserted over the middle of the anal base. The first dorsal fin is inserted over the anterior half of the pelvic fin. The distance between the dorsal fins is almost equal to snout length. The anal fin base is relatively short (about equal to inter-dorsal space). 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 noticeably separated from anal fin origin. Denticles sparse and weakly overlapping, with three sharp points (middle one longer and narrow), a strong central ridge, a rounded anterior margin, and a dense scaly covering.
Color
Uniformly brown over body and fins.
Size
Only known specimen is a mature male at 58cm TL.
Habitat
Very deep water: only specimen caught at 1,800m.
Range
Northwestern Atlantic: Bear Seamount
References
Castro, J.I. 2011. The Sharks of North America. Oxford University Press, 640 pp.
Other Notes
Most similar to A. melanoasper, but differs in several respects (size, denticle size and shape, and shorter anal fin) (Castro,2011).