black-mouthed dogfish
Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810
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 blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus) is a species of deepwater catshark, belonging to the family Pentanchidae, common in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean from Iceland to Senegal, including the Mediterranean Sea. It is typically found over the continental slope at depths of 150–1,400 m (490–4,590 ft), on or near muddy bottoms. The youngest sharks generally inhabit shallower water than the older juveniles and adults. This slim-bodied species is characterized by the black interior of its mouth, a marbled pattern of pale-edged brownish saddles or blotches along its back and tail, and a prominent saw-toothed crest of enlarged dermal denticles along the upper edge of its caudal fin. It reaches lengths of 50–79 cm (20–31 in), with sharks in the Atlantic growing larger than those in the Mediterranean. Slow-swimming but active, the blackmouth catshark is a generalist that preys on a wide variety of crustaceans, cephalopods, and fishes. Its visual and electroreceptive systems are adept at tracking moving, bioluminescent prey. This species is oviparous, with females producing batches of up to 13 egg cases throughout the year.
Wikipedia contributors, Blackmouth catshark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:51:55.427465+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810
- Name authority
- Rafinesque, 1810
- Common name
- black-mouthed dogfish
- 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 melastomus Rafinesque, 1810
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 |
| marbled cat sharkGaleus arae (Nichols, 1927) | 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 |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Galeus melanostomus Rafinesque, 1810 Rafinesque, 1810 | synonym |
| Pristiurus melanostomus Lowe, 1843 Lowe, 1843 | synonym |
| Pristiurus souverbiei LaFont, 1868 LaFont, 1868 | synonym |
| Scyllium melanostomum Bonaparte, 1834 Bonaparte, 1834 | synonym |
| Squalus delarochianus Blainville, 1816 Blainville, 1816 | synonym |
| Scyllium artedii Risso, 1820 Risso, 1820 | synonym |
| Pristiurus melastomus (Rafinesque, 1810) (Rafinesque, 1810) | synonym |
| Scyllium artedi Risso, 1820 Risso, 1820 | synonym |
| Squalus annulatus Nilsson, 1832 Nilsson, 1832 | synonym |
| Squalus prionurus Otto, 1821 Otto, 1821 | 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.
- Rafinesque, C. S. (1810). Caratteri di alcuni nuovi generi e nuove specie di animali e piante della sicilia, con varie osservazioni sopra i medisimi. Per Le Stampe Di Sanfilippo: Palermo, Italy, Part 1 involves fishes, pp. [i–iv] 3–69 [70 blank], Part 2 with slightly different title, pp. ia–iva + 71–105 [106 blank]). Pls. 1–20. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.104418 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:3F4Y9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.