Cephaloscyllium pictum (lat.) - one of the species of the family of big-headed sharks , the family of cat sharks (Scyliorhinidae).
| Cephaloscyllium pictum |
| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| View: | Cephaloscyllium pictum |
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| International scientific name |
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Cephaloscyllium pictum ( Last , SΓ©ret & WT White , 2008) |
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Content
Cephaloscyllium pictum was originally described as Cephaloscyllium "sp. E β , to which, as is now known, because of the similarity of color, the Australian big-headed sharks Cephaloscyllium signourum and Cephaloscyllium speccum were attributed. Genetic studies have shown that Cephaloscyllium pictum differs from Australian species, and in 2008 it was described in the publication CSIRO [1] . The specific name pictum comes from the word lat. pictus and means "motley". The type specimen was an adult male 65 cm long, found in Lombok ( Indonesia ).
Since all Cephaloscyllium pictum specimens were found in the fish markets of Bali and Lombok (Indonesia), the exact range is unknown.
This is a shark with a slender body, with a short, wide and flattened head. The muzzle is wide and rounded. The maximum length is 72 cm. Large nostrils are surrounded by folds of skin that do not reach the mouth. Slit-like eyes are high. The mouth is long and narrow, with no furrows at the corners of the mouth. There are 58β75 upper and 59β77 lower dentitions in the mouth. Each tooth has 3-5 teeth, the central tooth is longer than the lateral. Upper teeth are visible even when the mouth is closed. Males have longer teeth than females. The fourth and fifth gill slots are located above the base of the pectoral fins and shorter than the first three [1] .
The tip of the first dorsal fin is rounded; its base lies beyond the middle of the base of the ventral fins. The pectoral fins are small with narrow rounded tips and straight free caudal processes. The second dorsal fin has an almost triangular shape, it is smaller and lower than the first dorsal and anal fins. Its base is located behind the base of the anal fin. Caudal fin well developed lower lobe and deep ventral notch at the tip of the upper lobe. The skin is thick, covered with widely scattered placoid scales of various shapes. Each flake has 1-3 crests and prongs. The color is dark gray, the back is covered with dull black spots of a saddle shape, interspersed with light spots. There are black stripes under the eyes, above the gills and ventral fins. The belly is pale, covered with numerous gray spots, the muzzle is dotted with black and white dots. The border between the color of the back and the abdomen is irregular in shape, but sharp [1] .
Puberty occurs at a length of 58 cm. Like other big-headed sharks, Australian big-headed sharks are able to pump with water or air, being pulled out of the water, and swell in case of danger; in this way they wedge in the cracks, not allowing themselves to be caught, and even scare away the predator [1] .