Apristurus Garman, 1913

Ebert, David A., White, William T., Ho, Hsuan-Ching, Last, Peter R., Nakaya, Kazuhiro, Séret, Bernard, Straube, Nicolas, Naylor, Gavin J. P. & De Carvalho, Marcelo R., 2013, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of Taiwan, Zootaxa 3752 (1), pp. 279-386 : 313-315

Genus Apristurus Garman, 1913

Ghost Catsharks / ẲṚḛé

Apristurus Garman, 1913: 96 . Type Species: Scylliorhinus indicus Brauer, 1906 , by original designation.

Apristurus gibbosus Meng, Chu & Li, 1985

Humpback Catshark / aeûȁḛ

Apristurus gibbosus Meng, Chu & Li, 1985: 43 , 49, fig. 1. Holotype: SCSFRI D01121 , female 410 mm TL, South China Sea, 913 m depth.

Local synonymy: Apristurus gibbosus: Nakaya and Kawauchi, 2013: 145 .

Taiwan voucher material: (1 specimen) NMMB-P 17562 , female 491 mm TL, Da-xi, 12 Nov 2012 .

Remarks: This species, newly recorded by Nakaya and Kawauchi (2013), is distributed from the South China Sea northward to East China Sea (Okinawa Trough), and is not unexpected to occur around Taiwan, especially along the eastern coast.

Conservation status: Data Deficient.

Apristurus herklotsi ( Fowler, 1934)

Longfin Catshark / Ħḓȁḛ

Pentanchus herklotsi Fowler, 1934: 238 , fig. 3. Holotype: USNM 93 l34, juvenile female 312 (326) mm TL, Albatross Sta. D. 5424, 9°37'05" N, 121°12'37" E, Cagayan Island , Jolo Sea, Philippine Islands.

Local synonymy: Apristurus herklotsi: Nakaya and Kawauchi, 2013: 131 .

Taiwan voucher material: NMMB-P HO-198 (tissue accession GN10085 ), female 475 mm TL, Da-xi, 15 Mar 2012. Also see additional specimens listed in Nakaya and Kawauchi (2013) .

Remarks: This species is commonly collected from Da-xi and Dong-gang, but most specimens were not identified correctly. Nakaya & Kawauchi (2013) reported this species for the first time from Taiwanese waters.

Conservation status: Data Deficient.

Apristurus longicephalus Nakaya, 1975

Longhead Catshark / ĦĀȁḛ

Apristurus longicephalus Nakaya, 1975: 32 , figs. 15–16. Holotype: HUMZ 42399 , juvenile male 375 mm TL, 33°13' N, 133°44' E, Tosa Bay , Kochi Pref., Japan.

Local synonymy: Apristurus longicephalus: Nakaya and Kawauchi, 2013: 138 .

Taiwan voucher material: (1 specimen) ASIZP 64264 , female 258 mm TL, 25°13.61'N, 122°49.5'E, 23 Jul 2004 .

Remarks: This species is reported by Nakaya and Kawauchi (2013) for the first time from Taiwanese waters. It was not observed during a field survey in April-May 1988, but was observed by two of us ( DAE, WTW) in May 2005 at the Da-xi. It does not appear to be as common as A. herklotsi .

Conservation status: Data Deficient.

Apristurus macrostomus Meng, Chu & Li, 1985

Broadmouth Catshark / ǺŊȁḛ

Apristurus macrostomus Meng, Chu & Li, 1985: 45 , 49, fig. 2. Holotype: SCSFRI D00807, male 380 mm TL, South China Sea, 913 m depth.

Local synonymy: Apristurus macrorhynchus: Chen, 1963: 33 , fig. 11; Chen & Joung, in Shen, 1993: 53, pl.5.7. Apristurus platyrhynchus: Shen & Wu, 2011: 63 , fig.

Taiwan voucher material: HUMZ 213825 (tissue accession GN10082 ), male 246 mm TL , HUMZ 213826 (tissue accession GN 10083 ), male 251 mm TL , HUMZ 213827 , male 245 mm TL, Da-xi, 15 Mar 2012 ; CSIRO H 7394- 15 (tissue accession GN9904 ), female 288 mm TL , CSIRO H 7394-16 (tissue accession GN9905 ), juvenile male 258 mm TL , HUMZ 213828 , female 377 mm TL , HUMZ 213829 (tissue accession GN9903 ), female 354 mm TL , MNHN 2013-0492 , female 311 mm TL, Da-xi, 13 Mar 2012 ; AMNH 258158 , female 402 mm TL , CSIRO H 7395-44 (10 spec.), 180–325 mm TL , CSIRO H 7395-45 , juvenile male 379 mm TL , CSIRO H 7395-46 (tissue accession GN9989 ), juvenile male 380 mm TL , CSIRO H 7395-47 (tissue accession GN9990 ), female 337 mm TL , CSIRO H 7395-48 (tissue accession GN9991 ), juvenile male 306 mm TL , CSIRO H 7395-49 (tissue accession GN9992 ), juvenile male 337 mm TL , CSIRO H 7395-50 (tissue accession GN9993 ), female 238 mm TL , CSIRO H 7395-51 (tissue accession GN9994 ), female 269 mm TL , MNHN 2013-0436 (tissue accession GN9987 ), female 311 mm TL, Da-xi, 14 Mar 2012 ; MNHN 2013-0435 (12 spec.), 167–420 mm TL, 22°26'N, 120°30'E, Dong-gang, 19 Mar 2012 . Also see additional specimens listed in Nakaya and Kawauchi (2013).

Remarks: This is a most common species in Apristurus found in Taiwan. Most records of A. platyrhynchus are misidentification of present species.

Conservation status: Data Deficient.

Apristurus platyrhynchus ( Tanaka, 1909)

Spatulasnout Catshark / Ḑḓȁḛ

Scyliorhinus platyrhynchus Tanaka, 1909: 4 . Holotype: ZUMT 2154 , male 800 mm TL, off Japan [lost].

Local synonymy: Apristurus platyrhynchus: Nakaya & Kawauchi, 2013: 161 .

Taiwan voucher material: (1 specimen) ASIZP 66206 , male 645 mm TL, South China Sea , 20°84'N, 117°45'E, 19 Aug 2005 .

Remarks: Nakaya & Kawauchi (2013) reported this species for the first time from Taiwan. Appears to be very rare. This species has been sometimes erroneously reported from Taiwan, but those records were based on A. macrostomus , and not true A. platyrhynchus .

Conservation status: Data Deficient.