Scientific name:
Scyliorhinidae

Natural spread:
East-Atlantic, Mediterranean

the smallest representatives of the sharks includes the family of the cat-sharks, who live in the coast-area of tropical and restrained seas as ground-inhabitants; only few types occur in bigger depths. Altogether, approximately 50 types, that are apportioned in 12 types, are known. Cat-sharks have an extremely slim, long-stretched body, mostly only 2 back-fins (only a with the type Petanchus), a small and only little emergent tail fluke as well as Spritzlöcher, that often are hardly visible. They don't become dangerous for the human being.

Actual cat-sharks (type Scyliorhinus)) Two types of this type occur at Europe's coasts, the Kleingefleckte cat-shark (Scyliorhinus caniculus) and the Großgefleckte cat-shark (Scyliorhinus stellaris).

Spread It is about night-active ground-fish, who live in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean in coast-proximity. The spread-area of the Kleingefleckten cat-shark is enough in the north as far as after Norway, during which Großgefleckte cat-shark only advances as far as into the Biskaya north.

Shape It becomes the first-named one at most 80 cm long, its big-spotted relative can attain lengths in the Atlantic until 150 cm. Both types only differ negligibly: The Großgefleckte cat-shark often is colored darker, also almost black copies are found. The rear ends of the stomach-fins are off rounded with it, with the Kleingefleckten cat-shark against it pointed. From the nose-holes, furrows move as far as to the edge of the mouth with the Kleingefleckten cat-shark, with the big-blotchy type, these furrows finish previously.

Way of life Both live mollusks (whelks) from cancers, worms, and occasionally from small fishings. Over the increase of the cat-sharks and its attitude in the aquarium sees among sharks.

Stain or stain-shark (Galeus melanostomus)) This cat-shark very similar the two aforementioned types differs in keenly serrated thorns from them on the waiter-edge of the tail and a black mouth-cave. it lives on 200-900 m at the coast-hem in bigger depths in the eastern Atlantic from North-Africa as far as to the middle Scandinavia, is missing in the southern and middle North sea, however.

All three named types plays no role in the fishery, is eaten by the poorer population Southern Europe, however.