Cat shark?

Hi

We found this shark in Perth (Australia) in 6 mt deep water on a shore dive. We think is a cat shark. Can anybody please ID it?

Thanks

Yeah i would say a cat shark of some type. The white eyes are quite distinct. However never seen this colouration before. The darker stripe around the neck and the spots on the fins should be definative.

Olly

yeah

i can´t wait to get home and search my fish books. It was so pretty

According to "Sharks of the World" by Compagno et al, he looks like a necklace carpetshark (Parascyllium variolatum). The description reads:

"S. Austr..; bottom to 180m. Dk. grey to chocolate brown with dk. white spotted collar, unmistakable highly variable pattern of dk. blotches and dense white spots, obvious black spots on fins."

He's very pretty.

-Gina

Hi Gina

It does look like a necklace carpetshark!

Thanks a lot

Yep definitely a Parascyllium variolatum, Varied Carpetshark. Commonly seen along the entire Southern coast of Australia.

Cheers,

Jim.

Thanks Jim

We kept diving all the way to Bremer Bay and saw it several times. Really nice one to see.

Cheers