Galeus polli

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA CHONDRICHTHYES CARCHARHINIFORMES SCYLIORHINIDAE

Scientific Name: Galeus polli
Species Authority
Infra-specific Authority: Cadenat, 1959
Common Name/s:
English – African Sawtail Catshark

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern     ver 3.1
Year Assessed: 2004
Assessor/s Fowler, S.L.
Evaluator/s: Human, B., Cavanagh, R.D. & Ebert, D.A. (Shark Red List Authority)
Justification:
A small deepwater catshark of the outer shelf and slope at 160 to 720 m. Part of its range lies within heavily fished areas, but also extends into much deeper water where there is no significant exploitation pressure. In addition, the small size of this shark makes it less susceptible to trawl capture. The deepwater fisheries off the Namibian coast, where it appears to be most abundant, are well managed and recorded, which will enable possible future changes in abundance to be monitored. Abundance needs to be assessed quantitatively along its entire range (from Northern Cape Province, South Africa, northwards to Morocco). Currently Least Concern.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: Eastern Central and Southeast Atlantic: Southern Morocco to Northern Cape province, South Africa. Records become sparser near the border of Namibia with South Africa. There are records based on voucher specimens collected off the Northern Cape province of South Africa (down to just north of the Western/Northern Cape border) (L.J.V. Compagno, pers. comm. 2004).
Countries:
Native:
Angola; Benin; Cameroon; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; Mauritania; Morocco; Namibia; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone; South Africa (Northern Cape Province); Togo
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native:
Atlantic; Atlantic

Population [top]

Population: Common to very abundant off central Namibia, but drops out north of the Orange River (Compagno et al. 1991). Abundance needs to be assessed quantitatively along its entire range.
Population Trend: Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: Occurs on the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope at 160 to 720 m. Quite common at about 300 to 400 m deep and in Namibian waters most common at 258 to 490 m.

A small deepwater bottom shark that occurs in both temperate and tropical waters. Aplacental viviparity, these catsharks bear live young. Feeds mainly on small teleosts.

Known life history parameters: Size at maturity: approx. 30 cm total length (TL) (both males and females). Maximum size: maximum recorded 43 cm TL. Size at birth: approx. 12 to 18 cm TL. Average annual fecundity or litter size: 6 to 12.
Systems: Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): Bycatch of demersal trawl fisheries. The deepwater fisheries off the Namibian coast are well managed and recorded.

Conservation Actions [top]

Citation: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 11 October 2008.
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