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Cephaloscyllium sufflans (Regan, 1921)

Balloon shark
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Cephaloscyllium sufflans   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Cephaloscyllium sufflans (Balloon shark)
Cephaloscyllium sufflans
Picture by FAO

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: Cephaloscyllium: cephalus, from kephale (Gr.), head, referring to its very broad and depressed head; skylion, Greek for dogfish or small shark. (See ETYFish);  sufflans: Latin for puffing, referring to its inflatable stomach. (See ETYFish).
More on author: Regan.

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

Marine; demersal; depth range 40 - 600 m (Ref. 5578). Tropical; 19°S - 28°S

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

Western Indian Ocean: Mozambique and Natal, South Africa (Ref. 244). Records from the Gulf of Aden are doubtful. Nominal records from Viet Nam were based on an undescribed species often called Cephaloscyllium umbratile which was not even that species.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - 82 cm
Max length : 110 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5578)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. A comparatively large, stout catshark with a broad, rounded snout and no labial furrows; 2nd dorsal much smaller than 1st (Ref. 5578). Pale grey-brown, paler below; juveniles with about 6 slightly darker saddles on the dorsal side which fade and become unmarked in adults (Ref. 5510).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on the continental shelf and upper slope, preferring areas with sand and mud bottoms (Ref. 5578). Feeds on benthic animals, mainly crustaceans and cephalopods, but also bony fishes, and other elasmobranches (Ref. 244). Oviparous (Ref. 50449). Can expand with air when disturbed (Ref. 244).

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

Oviparous, laying one egg-case per oviduct (Ref. 244). Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449).

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

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. 130435)

  Near Threatened (NT) (A2d); Date assessed: 01 August 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Trophic ecology
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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 | 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): 14.4 - 19.2, mean 15.9 °C (based on 17 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [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):  4.2   ±0.61 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):  High to very high vulnerability (66 of 100).