Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Whitefin swellshark (Cephaloscyllium albipinnum), recorded as Critically Endangered
Whitefin swellshark (Cephaloscyllium albipinnum). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Whitefin swellshark

Cephaloscyllium albipinnum

The whitefin swellshark is a catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to southeastern Australia.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Cephaloscyllium albipinnum
Taxonomy
Elasmobranchii · Carcharhiniformes · Scyliorhinidae · Cephaloscyllium

Appearance

The whitefin swellshark is a stocky species measuring up to 1.1 m (3.6 ft) long. The head is short, very wide, and greatly flattened, with a broadly rounded snout. The first dorsal fin is rounded and originates over the forward half of the pelvic fin bases.

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.

Range and habitat

The whitefin swellshark is found off southeastern Australia from Batemans Bay, New South Wales to the Great Australian Bight as far as Eucla, Western Australia, among them southern Tasmania from Maria Island to Point Hibbs. It is a bottom-dweller that inhabits the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, at a depth of 126–554 m (413–1,818 ft). The whitefin swellshark is a catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to southeastern Australia.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Breeding

Sharks and rays grow slowly and have few young. A fishery that treats them as bycatch can empty a coastal form.

In crisis

When threatened the whitefin swellshark can inflate itself with water or air to increase its size. 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.

Whitefin swellshark is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Whitefin swellshark, Wikidata item Q1950369. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Indian swellshark (Cephaloscyllium silasi), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Indian swellshark

Cephaloscyllium silasi
Photograph of Vaquita (Phocoena sinus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus
Photograph of Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
Photograph of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Sumatran orangutan

Pongo abelii

Quick answers

What is Whitefin swellshark?
Whitefin swellshark is a shark or ray in the family Scyliorhinidae (order Carcharhiniformes) — Cephaloscyllium albipinnum.
What is the conservation status of Whitefin swellshark?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Cephaloscyllium albipinnum. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Whitefin swellshark live?
The whitefin swellshark is found off southeastern Australia from Batemans Bay, New South Wales to the Great Australian Bight as far as Eucla, Western Australia, among them southern Tasmania from Maria Island to Point Hibbs.
Why is Whitefin swellshark in crisis?
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.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Cephaloscyllium albipinnum?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Whitefin swellshark a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.