Overview

This shark sits in a small tropical family of slender bottom-associated sharks that are still under-described in many field guides. PocketShark treats it as a cautious provisional profile until stronger species-specific sources are added. Proscylliids are small, slender carcharhiniform sharks with a catshark-like feel but a somewhat different fin and head arrangement depending on genus. Finback and allied catsharks occur mainly in tropical and subtropical shelf and slope waters, especially in the Indo-West Pacific.

Most species are small sharks of the bottom or near-bottom layer on soft bottoms, reefs, or upper slopes.

Added from the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).

Why it matters: This family shows how shark lineages can blur the neat visual boundary between 'catshark' and 'houndshark' body plans.

Common nameAfrican ribbontail catshark
Scientific nameEridacnis sinuans
FamilyProscylliidae
OrderCarcharhiniformes
Max length0.4 m
Depth range0 to 0 meters
RegionMozambique, Mozambican EEZ, Tanzania
DietData not available in this offline release.
HabitatMarine waters (habitat data not available locally).
Why it stands outFamily: Proscylliidae

What this shark is

Proscylliids are small, slender carcharhiniform sharks with a catshark-like feel but a somewhat different fin and head arrangement depending on genus.

Where it lives

Finback and allied catsharks occur mainly in tropical and subtropical shelf and slope waters, especially in the Indo-West Pacific.

Most species are small sharks of the bottom or near-bottom layer on soft bottoms, reefs, or upper slopes.

How it differs from similar sharks

Family: Proscylliidae

Compare it against Eridacnis Barbouri, pygmy ribbontail catshark, and Izak catshark.

Why it is notable

Human contact is minimal outside coastal fisheries and deep survey work.

Species-level taxonomy was verified from Sharkipedia's current species list and taxonomy workbook. In this pass, the narrative fields are cautious family-level placeholders synthesized from broad shark references, chiefly the FAO Sharks of the World catalogue, because a stronger multi-source species-level synthesis was not assembled here without risking invented detail. Replace this with a direct species-level synthesis before publication in the app.

Related shark pages

These links are meant to help readers continue through related species, not force extra clicks.

Scientific figure plate including a Holohalaelurus regani specimen detail from a comparative catshark anatomy study; not to scale.
Holohalaelurus regani

Izak catshark

Shark species in Pentanchidae.

0.7 m max