You can sponsor this page

Poroderma pantherinum (Smith, 1838)

Leopard catshark
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Poroderma pantherinum   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
 Pictures | Google image
Image of Poroderma pantherinum (Leopard catshark)
Poroderma pantherinum
Picture by Scheepers, C.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Scyliorhinidae (Cat sharks) > Scyliorhininae
Etymology: Poroderma: poros (Gr.), hole or passage; derma (Gr.), skin or hide, allusion not explained nor evident (Smith proposed name without a description). (See ETYFish);  pantherinum: Latin for leopard-like, referring to its variable leopard-like spots, stripes and blotches. (See ETYFish).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 256 m (Ref. 5578). Subtropical; 28°S - 36°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Southeast Atlantic: Saldanha to central Natal, South Africa.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 84.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 244); 73.0 cm TL (female)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. A stocky shark with long nasal barbels and a highly variable color pattern of black spots, rings and lines in horizontal rows on a grey to whitish background; white below (Ref. 5578). There are 3 different forms, the typical 'pantherinum' with lines and rosettes of spots, and two extreme forms, 'marleyi' with large dark spots (formerly considered a separate species), and 'salt and pepper' with small, densely packed black spots, intermediates between these extremes are extremely common (Ref. 5578).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on or near the bottom of warm-temperate waters, from the intertidal zone to 256 m (Ref. 5578). Prefers rocky reefs (Ref. 5578). Nocturnal (Ref. 244). Feeds on small bony fish, crustaceans, octopus and polychaete worms (Ref. 5578). Oviparous (Ref. 50449). Readily kept in captivity (Ref. 244).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Oviparous, produces one egg per oviduct (Ref. 5578). Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

Compagno, L.J.V., D.A. Ebert and M.J. Smale, 1989. Guide to the sharks and rays of southern Africa. New Holland (Publ.) Ltd., London. 158 p. (Ref. 5578)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 01 August 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; gamefish: yes
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 12.4 - 22.1, mean 16.3 °C (based on 31 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.7500   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00263 (0.00139 - 0.00497), b=3.21 (3.04 - 3.38), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.57 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 7.11 [1.51, 36.84] mg/100g; Iron = 0.352 [0.091, 1.024] mg/100g; Protein = 19.2 [16.2, 22.3] %; Omega3 = 0.125 [0.052, 0.290] g/100g; Selenium = 15.6 [4.5, 47.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 36.5 [12.1, 119.9] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.539 [0.250, 1.132] mg/100g (wet weight);