Apristurus cf. manis Springer, 1979

Ghost Catshark

Parmaturus (Compagnoia) manis Springer, 1979: 102, fig. 60. Holotype: MCZ 38299. Type locality: southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S.A., 39°52'N, 70°50'W.

Local synonymy: Apristurus manis: Compagno, 1999: 119; Compagno et al., 2005: 195, fig., pl. 31; Ebert et al., 2006: 1056, fig. 3; Flammang et al., 2007: 311, fig. 3; Ebert, 2013: 169, fig. 218; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 295, fig., pl. 36; Ebert, 2015: 144, fig. 157; Ebert & Mostada, 2015: 44, fig.; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 147; Weigmann, 2016: 868.

South Africa voucher material: Four specimens, all uncatalogued at the SAM.

South African distribution: Off Cape Town (WC).

Remarks: The only records of this species from South Africa were caught during an experimental trawl survey in the late 1990s. One of us examined these specimens (D.A. Ebert, unpubl. data, Sept. 2003) and tentatively identified them as A. cf. manis . However, subsequent to this identification, Sasahara et al. (2008) described a new species A. ampliceps from Australia and New Zealand, which bears strong resemblance to the South African A. cf. manis specimens reported here. Additional specimens of a robust-bodied, A. spongiceps -group, Apristurus collected during a series of surveys in the southwestern Indian Ocean also appears to fit the description of A. ampliceps . A taxonomic revision of southern African Apristurus species is currently in progress, which may shed light on the taxonomic status of this group.

Conservation status: NE.