Two images of the juvenile tiger catshark.
Both photos Peter Southwood.
Adult tiger catshark at Glencairn.
Photo Richard Steventon
This juvenile shark, of about 10 cm length, was seen swimming in about 10m at Long Beach, Simon's Town. An adult was seen in 2003 at nearby Glencairn. The tiger catsharks known range is from Cape Agulhas to East London, but the literature tentatively states it may range as far as Saldanha. A juvenile of the size most likely hatched in the area.
The tiger catshark can be distinguished readily from the puffadder shyshark Haploblepharus edwardsii by having much bolder, well defined, bars along the body than the puffadder shyshark. The dark shyshark Haploblepharus pictus has even less bold markings than the puffadder shyshark, and thus cannot be mistaken for a tiger catshark.
For more details on Cape Town shysharks and related, see "Coastal Fishes of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay", available from SURG or better Cape Town dive stores.
Guide to the Sharks and Rays of Southern Africa, LJV Compagno, DA Ebert and MJ Smale, 1989.
Coastal Fishes of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay, Guido Zsilavecz, 2005.