marbled cat shark
Galeus arae (Nichols, 1927)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The roughtail catshark or marbled catshark (Galeus arae) is a common species of deepwater catshark, belonging to the family Pentanchidae. It is found at a depth of 36–702 m (118–2,303 ft) in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, from North Carolina to Costa Rica. Individuals of different sexes and ages are segregated to some degree. A small species not exceeding 33 cm (13 in) in length, the roughtail catshark has a slender body with a marbled color pattern of dark saddles and spots, and a prominent crest of enlarged dermal denticles along the dorsal edge of its caudal fin. This species feeds mainly on shrimp and is oviparous. It is caught incidentally in shrimp trawls, though trawl fisheries within its range mostly do not operate at the depths it inhabits. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it under Least Concern.
Wikipedia contributors, Roughtail catshark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:11:31.957632+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Galeus arae (Nichols, 1927)
- Name authority
- (Nichols, 1927)
- Common name
- marbled cat shark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Pentanchidae
- Genus
- Galeus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassSelachii
- superorderGaleomorphi
- orderCarcharhiniformes
- familyPentanchidae Smith, 1912
- genusGaleus Rafinesque, 1810
- speciesGaleus arae (Nichols, 1927)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Galeus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic sawtail catsharkGaleus atlanticus (Vaillant, 1888) | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus cadenati Springer, 1966 | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus longirostris Tachikawa & Taniuchi, 1987 | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus schultzi Springer, 1979 | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus mincaronei Soto, 2001 | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus antillensis Springer, 1979 | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus corriganae White, Mana & Naylor, 2016 | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus eastmani (Jordan & Snyder, 1904) | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus gracilis Compagno & Stevens, 1993 | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| black-mouthed dogfishGaleus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810 | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus murinus (Collett, 1904) | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus piperatus Springer & Wagner, 1966 | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pristiurus arae Nichols, 1927 Nichols, 1927 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=271355 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3F4XM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.