chain catshark
Scyliorhinus retifer (Garman, 1881)
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 chain catshark or chain dogfish (Scyliorhinus retifer) is a small, reticulated catshark that is biofluorescent. The species is common in the Northwest Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean. It is harmless and rarely encountered by humans. It has very similar reproductive traits to the small-spotted catshark (S. canicula).
Wikipedia contributors, Chain catshark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:10:01.862135+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Scyliorhinus retifer (Garman, 1881)
- Name authority
- (Garman, 1881)
- Common name
- chain catshark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Scyliorhinidae
- Genus
- Scyliorhinus
- 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
- familyScyliorhinidae Gill, 1862
- genusScyliorhinus Blainville, 1816
- speciesScyliorhinus retifer (Garman, 1881)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Scyliorhinus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Scyliorhinus cabofriensis Soares, Gomes & Carvalho, 2016 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scyliorhinus comoroensis Compagno, 1988 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scyliorhinus garmani (Fowler, 1934) | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scyliorhinus hesperius Springer, 1966 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| greater spotted dogfishScyliorhinus stellaris (Linnaeus, 1758) | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blotched catsharkScyliorhinus meadi Springer, 1966 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scyliorhinus torazame (Tanaka, 1908) | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scyliorhinus boa Goode & Bean, 1896 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| dogfishScyliorhinus canicula (Linnaeus, 1758) | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scyliorhinus capensis (Müller & Henle, 1838) | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scyliorhinus cervigoni Maurin & Bonnet, 1970 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scyliorhinus torrei Howell Rivero, 1936 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Scyllium retiferum Garman, 1881 Garman, 1881 | synonym |
| Scyliorhinus retifer retifer (Garman, 1881) (Garman, 1881) | 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=158516 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:4W57K. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.