Holohalaelurus punctatus ( Gilchrist, 1914 )

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 : 51

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4947.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7F3B4794-65CF-4691-A330-78A423F2606F

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4693872

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039287A1-955B-FFBC-CFF7-5BBBFDEB2667

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Holohalaelurus punctatus ( Gilchrist, 1914 )
status

 

Holohalaelurus punctatus ( Gilchrist, 1914) View in CoL View at ENA

Whitespotted Izak Catshark

Scylliorhinus punctatus Gilchrist, 1914: 129 View in CoL , fig. Neotype: SAIAB 6128 [formerly RUSI 6128; previously ORI 2529] designated by Human, 2006b: 6, fig. 2. Type locality: Red Cliff off Bazaruto, Mozambique.

Local synonymy: Scylliorhinus punctatus View in CoL : Gilchrist, 1914: 129, fig.; Thompson, 1914: 138; Gilchrist, 1921: 44; Gilchrist, 1922b: 44; Barnard, 1925: 43; von Bonde, 1934: 15. Scyliorhinus (Halaelurus) polystigma Regan, 1921: 413 View in CoL (original description); Norman, 1939: 10, fig. 2b. Halaelurus (Holohalaelurus) punctatus: Fowler, 1934a: 235 View in CoL ; Fowler, 1941: 42. Halaelurus punctatus: Fowler, 1935: 361 View in CoL , fig. 1; Fowler, 1941: 42. Scyliorhinus (Halaelurus) punctatus: Norman, 1939: 10 . Holohalaelurus punctatus: Smith, 1949a: 55 View in CoL , fig. 42, pl. 2; Smith, 1965: 55, fig. 42, pl. 2; Bass et al., 1975a: 23, fig. 14; Springer, 1979: 92, fig. 56; Compagno, 1984b: 337, fig.; Bass, 1986: 93, fig. 11.11, pl. 3; Compagno, 1988a: 156; Compagno et al., 1989: 54, pl.; Compagno, 1999: 119; Compagno et al., 2005: 237, fig., pl. 40; Human, 2006b: 6, fig. 2; Human, 2010: 25; Ebert, 2013: 183, fig. 246; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 359, fig., pl. 48; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 147; Weigmann, 2016: 877.

South Africa voucher material: BMNH 1921.3 . 1.1 (Holotype of H. polystigma from off Umvoti River , KZN). SAIAB 6134 View Materials , SAIAB 6135 View Materials , SAIAB 40829 View Materials , SAIAB 188971 View Materials , SAIAB 188972 View Materials , SAIAB 188973 View Materials , SAIAB 190082 View Materials .

South African distribution: North of Durban to the KZN border with Mozambique. Outside South Africa, this regional endemic is known only from southern Mozambique and Madagascar.

Remarks: Human (2006b) highlighted three issues that contributed to the taxonomic confusion of this species. This includes the loss of the holotype and whether it was ever formally accessioned, the type locality, and the species-complex in the KZN and southern Mozambique region. The specimen and illustration depicted by Gilchrist (1914) would qualify as the holotype, and it is likely to have gone to the SAM, but may never have been catalogued. During that period there is no reference to a scyliorhinid shark collected by Gilchrist in the SAM catalogue ( Human, 2006a). Although Gilchrist (1914) gives the type locality as Cape Point with no further details, Human (2006a) suggested that he was referring to Cape St. Lucia (KZN) rather that Cape Point (WC). This would make sense since despite thousands of survey trawls in the WC over the past five decades this species has not been observed. However, its occurrence in KZN waters is not unexpected. Furthermore, the survey vessel S.S. Pickle traveled continuously between the WC and KZN during the early 1900s. The KZN and southern Mozambique region has several species of Holohalaelurus co-occurring and until recently a lack of accurate descriptions precluded species-specific identification ( Human, 2006).

Conservation status: EN (2020).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Elasmobranchii

Order

Carcharhiniformes

Family

Scyliorhinidae

Genus

Holohalaelurus

Loc

Holohalaelurus punctatus ( Gilchrist, 1914 )

Ebert, David A., Wintner, Sabine P. & Kyne, Peter M. 2021
2021
Loc

Gilchrist, 1914: 129 , fig
Thompson, 1914: 138
Gilchrist, 1921: 44
Gilchrist, 1922b: 44
Barnard, 1925: 43
von Bonde, 1934: 15
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