Haploblepharus fuscus Smith, 1950

Brown Shyshark

Haploblepharus fuscus Smith, 1950: 883, fig. 2. Holotype: SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 21. Type locality: off East London, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, 33°00'S, 27°55'E.

Local synonymy: Haploblepharus edwardsii: G̹nther, 1870: 401 (in part); Smith, 1949a: 54, fig. 39 (= H. fuscus). Haploblepharus fuscus: Smith, 1950: 883, fig. 2; Smith, 1965: 54, fig. 39; Bass et al., 1975a: 19, fig. 12; Springer, 1979: 89; Compagno, 1984b: 334, fig.; Bass, 1986: 92, fig. 11.9, pl. 3; Compagno, 1988a: 151; Compagno et al., 1989: 50, pl.; Compagno, 1999: 119; Compagno et al., 2005: 235, fig., pl. 40; Human & Compagno, 2006: 41; Human, 2007: 22, fig. 7; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 354, fig., pl. 48; NPOA, 2013: 46; da Silva et al., 2015: 248; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 147; Weigmann, 2016: 876.

South Africa voucher material: Holotype: SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 21. Non-types: SAIAB [formerly ORI] 2477, SAIAB [formerly ORI] 2595, SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 3700, SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 3701, SAIAB 6079 [formerly ORI 2470], SAIAB 6081 [formerly ORI 2487), SAIAB 6082 [formerly ORI 2471], SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 7617, SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 10289, SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 12826, SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 13144, SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 14005, SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 19993, SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 25182, SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 41963, SAM 32523, SAM 32614. See Human (2007) for details.

South African distribution: Endemic. The species occurs from just west of Cape Agulhas (WC) to Hibberdene, southern KZN, although it is most common from Storms River to East London (EC). It is less common to the west between Cape Agulhas and Storms River, with one anomalous specimen recorded from Langebaan Lagoon (SAM 32614) on the west coast. East London (EC) appears to be the eastern limits for the species, although Bass et al. (1975) reported two specimens from southern KZN (ORI 2595). Similar to other Haploblepharus species, improved species-specific identification will help in determining the distributional limits of this South African endemic .

Remarks: Knysna (EC) is also frequently listed as a type location, but this second specimen, a possible ‘paratype’ according to Human (2007) appears to never have been catalogued despite a search of the SAIAB collection. Both Bass et al. (1975a) and Springer (1979) refer to the two specimens described by Smith (1950) but make no mention of a paratype. One of us (D.A. Ebert) along with L.J.V. Compagno also searched the J.L.B. Smith (= SAIAB) collection (ca. 1988–89) and could not locate this second specimen.

Conservation status: VU (2020).