Species: Apristurus canutus, Hoary Cat Shark

Apristurus canutus Springer & Heemstra, 1979

Hoary Cat Shark

Body soft and flabby, with thin skin; body compressed; head broad, flattened, pointed and wedge shaped in side view; snout long (length before mouth 8.6-9.5% TL), broad (at level of nostrils is wider than mouth), tip rounded, longer than mouth width; skull without crests above eyes; mouth long, arched, mostly under eyes; teeth with 3-5 cusps; lip furrows very long, upper furrows extend forwards to level of front of mouth, lower furrows shorter than uppers; nostrils large, upper flap pointed, reach across nostrils; eyes relatively large (orbit length 2.5-3% TL, high on sides of head, with a crest below them; 5 gill slits, on sides of head, length < eye; fins relatively large, edges frayed, not rounded; 2 dorsal fins small, at rear of body, without spines; 1st dorsal much smaller than (1/2-1/3 area of) second, origin behind base of pelvics; origin of 2nd dorsal over ~middle of anal base; space between dorsals 7.7-8.9% TL; distance between pectoral and pelvic bases short, 6-8.5% TL; anal fin with very long base, base length 2.5-3X fin height, 18-22% TL, separated from tail fin by a small notch; tail fin elongate, top lobe with a subterminal notch, lower lobe weakly developed, no crest of denticles along top margin; flank denticles with 3 points (central point longest) & a weak central ridge, surface of blades sculptured.

Uniform dark grey; denticle-free areas around lips and gill slits and inside mouth black; edges of fins blackish

Reaches 46 cm

Trawled from soft bottoms

Depth range 521-915 m

Florida to Venezuela.