Pygmy ribbontail catshark

Taxobox
name = Pygmy ribbontail catshark
status =
trend =


image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Chondrichthyes
subclassis = Elasmobranchii
ordo = Carcharhiniformes
familia = Proscylliidae
genus = "Eridacnis"
species = "E. radcliffei"
binomial = "Eridacnis radcliffei"
binomial_authority = Smith, 1913

The pygmy ribbontail catshark, "Eridacnis radcliffei", is a finback catshark of the family Proscylliidae, found in the Indo-Pacific oceans, from Tanzania, the Gulf of Aden, India (Gulf of Mannar, Bay of Bengal), the Andaman Islands, Viet Nam, and the Philippines, at depths of between 70 and 750 m. It reaches a length of 24 cm, and is one of the two smallest living sharks .It is the smallest of the carcharhinoid sharks.

The pygmy ribbontail catshark has a caudal fin without a rippled dorsal margin and ventral lobe but with a strong subterminal notch, and the vertebral axis of the caudal fin is a little raised above the body axis. It occurs over muddy bottoms, on the upper continental and insular slopes and outer shelves, feeding mainly on small bony fishes and crustaceans, with squid a lesser item in the diet.

The pygmy ribbontail catshark is ovoviviparous giving birth to one or two young per litter.

Coloration is dark brown with blackish markings on the dorsal fins.

References

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