Overview

This species belongs to the catshark family, a huge group of generally small bottom-associated sharks. PocketShark treats these entries as quiet, patterned seafloor hunters unless stronger species-specific evidence points elsewhere. Catsharks are generally small to medium sharks with slender bodies, elongated tails, and patterned skin marked by spots, saddles, or reticulation. Catsharks are widely distributed from tropical to temperate seas around the world. Some species are shallow shelf residents, but many others live on slopes, seamounts, and deep benthic habitats.

Most species are bottom-associated and favor reefs, soft-bottom shelves, canyons, or upper-slope terrain. Habitat varies substantially by genus.

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

Why it matters: Many catshark egg cases are the classic 'mermaid's purses' washed ashore after hatching.

Common nameAfrican spotted catshark
Scientific nameHolohalaelurus punctatus
FamilyScyliorhinidae
OrderCarcharhiniformes
Max length0.3 m
Depth range0 to 0 meters
RegionMozambique, Mozambican EEZ, Kenya
DietData not available in this offline release.
HabitatMarine waters (habitat data not available locally).
Why it stands outFamily: Pentanchidae

What this shark is

Catsharks are generally small to medium sharks with slender bodies, elongated tails, and patterned skin marked by spots, saddles, or reticulation.

Where it lives

Catsharks are widely distributed from tropical to temperate seas around the world. Some species are shallow shelf residents, but many others live on slopes, seamounts, and deep benthic habitats.

Most species are bottom-associated and favor reefs, soft-bottom shelves, canyons, or upper-slope terrain. Habitat varies substantially by genus.

How it differs from similar sharks

Family: Pentanchidae

Compare it against Holohalaelurus Favus, Holohalaelurus Grennian, and Holohalaelurus Melanostigma.

Why it is notable

They are usually harmless and seldom noticed outside trawls, research catches, aquaria, or night dives.

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