Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; demersal; depth range ? - 100 m (Ref. 5510). Subtropical; 28°S - 36°S
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 65 - 72 cm
Max length : 101 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 244); 93.0 cm TL (female)
Morphology | Morphometrics
Southeast Atlantic: endemic to South Africa. There are old records from Madagascar and Mauritius, but these require confirmation (Ref. 244).
Occurs in the continental shelf, both inshore and offshore (Ref. 5578). Prefers rocky reefs from the intertidal zone down to 100 m depth (Ref. 5578). Nocturnal, often found in caves and crevices during the day (Ref. 5578). Feeds mainly on crustaceans, but also bony fish and cephalopods (Ref. 244). Oviparous (Ref. 50449). Readily kept in captivity (Ref. 244).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Oviparous, with a single egg-case per oviduct (Ref. 244). Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). Size at hatching between 14 and 15 cm.
Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; gamefish: yes
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.7500 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00355 (0.00184 - 0.00686), b=3.11 (2.94 - 3.28), based on LWR estimates for species & (Sub)Family-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.6 ±0.5 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): High vulnerability (60 of 100) .