Halaelurus Gill

William T. White, Peter R. Last & John D. Stevens, 2007, Halaelurus maculosus n. sp. and H. sellus n. sp., two new species of catshark (Carcharhiniformes: Scyliorhinidae) from the Indo-West Pacific., Zootaxa 1639, pp. 1-21 : 18-20

[[ Genus Halaelurus Gill ]]

Key to the species of Halaelurus

1 Snout obtusely pointed, its tip knob-like and turned upward......................................................................2

Snout not pointed, its tip rounded and not turned upward...........................................................................3

2 About 26 narrow dark bars across back and sides; mouth relatively small, its width about 7% or less of total length, its length 2.1 to 2.6% TL ............................................... Halaelurus lineatus (southern Africa)

About 10 darker saddle blotches across back and sides; mouth relatively large, its width 7.3 to 8.1% TL, its length 2.8 to 3.5% TL ............................................................... Halaelurus natalensis (southern Africa)

3 Colour pattern consisting of>20 transverse dark bars with no dark spots; adult clasper with a distinct knob extending over the hypopyle................................................................ Halaelurus quagga (Somalia, India)

Colour pattern consisting small to large dark spots and weakly defined saddle markings; adult clasper without a knob over the hypopyle.......................................................... 4

4 Dorsal and lateral surfaces of body with moderately large to large dark spots (typically larger than spiracle), not particularly numerous and confined to borders of saddle markings............................................5

Dorsal and lateral surfaces of body peppered with small dark spots (typically smaller than spiracle), numerous and not confined to saddle markings ........................................................................................ 6

5 First dorsal fin relatively tall (its height 4.9-5.1% TL); dark spots on body well-defined and clearly distinct .......................................................................................... Halaelurus buergeri (Taiwan, Japan, China)

First dorsal fin only moderately tall (its height 3.8-4.3% TL); dark spots on body poorly-defined and sometimes indistinct........................................................ Halaelurus sellus n. sp. (northwestern Australia)

6 Mouth relatively long (length 2.8-3.6% TL, 2.0-2.8 times in mouth width); labial furrows short and weak (lower labial furrow length more than 11 times in eye length, 0.4-0.9% TL), degree of development variable(often only visible on one mouth corner); 127-136 (usually 130-132) total vertebrae........................ .................................................................................. Halaelurus maculosus n. sp. (Indonesia, Philippines)

Mouth relatively short (length 2.2% TL, 3.7 times in mouth width); labial furrows elongate (lower labial furrow length about half of eye length, 1.6% TL); 135-139 (usually 136-138) total vertebrae................... .......................................................................................... Halaelurus boesemani (Somalia, Gulf of Aden)