Black-spotted catshark

The blackspotted catshark has the appearance of a member of the catshark family, with a cylindrical and slender body, two dorsal fins of equal size, and a smaller anal fin. The body of the blackspotted catshark is thick-skinned and usually a light beige or dark grey color, with distinctive dark spots covering the entire body as well as the fins. Saddles on the side are not prominent, though darker in color compared to the rest of the body. The head is rounded and has a slight indentation, with a short snout. This species does not have barbels.

The blackspotted catshark is native to Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines. Their range is confined to the Pacific Ocean as far south as Western Australia, where they are considered a common inshore catshark. There has been some controversy over sightings of the blackspotted catshark in Northern Australia and Queensland, however Whitley (1940) and McKay (1966) noted that recorded sightings were untrue.

The blackspotted catshark is oviparous, with eggs remaining in the oviduct until hatching. Leonard Compagno, a shark taxonomist, noted that females have been known to deposit between 6-12 egg cases.