Squatina africana Regan, 1908a

Ebert, David A., Wintner, Sabine P. & Kyne, Peter M., 2021, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of South Africa, Zootaxa 4947 (1), pp. 1-127 : 36

Squatina africana Regan, 1908a

African Angelshark

Squatina africana Regan, 1908a: 248 , pl. 38. Holotype: BMNH 1906.11 .19.21, male, 800 mm TL. Type locality: Durban Bay , KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, southwestern Indian Ocean.

Local synonymy: Squatina africana: Regan, 1908a: 248 , pl. 38; Gilchrist & Thompson, 1916: 284; Barnard, 1925: 54, fig. 5, pl. 3; Smith, 1949a: 61, fig. 55, pl. 3; Smith, 1965: 6, fig. 55, pl. 3; Bass et al., 1975d: 21; Compagno, 1984a: 141, fig.; Bass, 1986: 107, fig. 21.2; Compagno et al., 1989: 36, pl.; Compagno, 1999: 115; Compagno et al., 2005: 138, fig., pl. 17; Ebert, 2013: 131, fig. 169; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 190, fig., pl. 20; Ebert & Mostada, 2013: 10, fig.; NPOA, 2013: 51; da Silva et al., 2015: 248; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 145; Weigmann, 2016: 905.

South Africa voucher material: Holotype: BMNH 1906.11 .19.21. Non-types: SAIAB 6221 , SAIAB 6222 , SAIAB 6223 , SAIAB 6224 , SAIAB 7082 , SAIAB 8532 , SAIAB 11458 , SAIAB 26960 , SAIAB 27583 , SAIAB 48523 , SAIAB 53275 , SAIAB 99189 , SAIAB 188976 , SAIAB 188977 .

South Africa distribution: Mostly from Algoa Bay (EC) to northern KZN, but occasionally west to Mossel Bay and Knysna (WC).

Remarks: A common species off KZN, but it is uncommon to rare off Mozambique, Tanzania, and Madagascar. Records from off Somalia, Socotra Island ( Yemen), and Mauritius ( Fricke, 1999a) should be carefully examined to determine if this is the same or a different species. A single specimen landed at a fishing port in India ( Ambily et al., 2018) is likely to have originated in African waters given that fishing vessels fish widely in the Indian Ocean.

Conservation status: NT (2019).