Galeus polli Cadenat, 1959
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 African sawtail catshark (Galeus polli) is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. Demersal in nature, it is found at depths of 160–720 m (520–2,360 ft) off the western African coast from Morocco to South Africa. This slender species has a rather long, pointed snout, a series of dark saddles along the back and tail, and a prominent crest of enlarged dermal denticles along the upper edge of the caudal fin. Its maximum known length is 46 cm (18 in). The diet of the African sawtail catshark consists of small bony fishes, squid, and crustaceans. It is the only member of its genus known to be aplacental viviparous; reproduction proceeds year-round, with females bear litters of up to 12 pups. In relatively shallower waters, this shark is caught incidentally and utilized for meat or fishmeal. The fisheries off Namibia, where it is most abundant, are well-managed and do not threaten its population.
Wikipedia contributors, African sawtail catshark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:34:01.142241+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Galeus polli Cadenat, 1959
- Name authority
- Cadenat, 1959
- 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 polli Cadenat, 1959
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 |
| black-mouthed dogfishGaleus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810 | PentanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galeus murinus (Collett, 1904) | 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 polli (Cadenat, 1959) (Cadenat, 1959) | 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.
- Cadenat, J. (1959). Notes d’ichtyologie ouest-africaine. XX.--Galeus polli espèce nouvelle ovovivipare de Scylliorhinidae. Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Afrique Noire (Sér A) Sciences Naturelles, v. 21 (no. 1): 395–409. 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:3F4YH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.