Cephaloscyllium albipinnum Last, Motomura & White, 2008
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 whitefin swellshark (Cephaloscyllium albipinnum) is a species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to southeastern Australia. It is found 126–554 m (413–1,818 ft) down, on the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope. Reaching 1.1 m (3.6 ft) in length, this shark has a very thick body and a short, broad, flattened head with a large mouth. It is characterized by a dorsal color pattern of dark saddles and blotches over a brown to gray background, and light fin margins. When threatened the whitefin swellshark can inflate itself with water or air to increase its size. Reproduction is oviparous. As of 2019 The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as Critically Endangered due to the significant decline of the population.
Wikipedia contributors, Whitefin swellshark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:16:04.693797+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cephaloscyllium albipinnum Last, Motomura & White, 2008
- Name authority
- Last, Motomura & White, 2008
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Scyliorhinidae
- Genus
- Cephaloscyllium
- 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
- genusCephaloscyllium Gill, 1862
- speciesCephaloscyllium albipinnum Last, Motomura & White, 2008
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cephaloscyllium. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cephaloscyllium laticeps (Duméril, 1853) | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cephaloscyllium hiscosellum White & Ebert, 2008 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Blotchy swell sharkCephaloscyllium umbratile Jordan & Fowler, 1903 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cephaloscyllium sarawakense Yano, Ahmad & Gambang, 2005 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cephaloscyllium signourum Last, Séret & White, 2008 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cephaloscyllium pictum Last, Séret & White, 2008 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cephaloscyllium silasi (Talwar, 1974) | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| swell sharkCephaloscyllium ventriosum (Garman, 1880) | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cephaloscyllium zebrum Last & White, 2008 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cephaloscyllium stevensi Clark & Randall, 2011 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cephaloscyllium fasciatum Chan, 1966 | ScyliorhinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Last, P. R., Motomura, H., & White, W. T. (2008). Cephaloscyllium albipinnum sp. Nov., a new swell shark (Carcharhihiformes: Scyliorhinidae) from Southeastern Australia. In Last, P.R., White, W.T. & Pogonoski, J.J. (Eds.): Descriptions of New Australian Chondrichthyans. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper No. 22. 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:5XJXG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.