Lesser Spotted Catshark

These catsharks have found happiness with the males and females sleeping separately.

The Lesser Spotted Catshark can be found in northeast Atlantic Ocean from Norway and British Isles south to Senegal, including the Mediterranean. This is the most commonly found shark around UK however may be difficult to see as they tend to spend most of their time on sandy, coralline, algal, gravel and muddy bottoms.

This small shark has a slender shark-shaped body with a blunt head, rounded snout and small dorsal fin. The nostrils are located on the underside of the snout and are connected to the mouth by a curved groove. There are five pairs of gill slits, the last two of which overlap the pectoral fins. The upper side is greyish-brown with darker spots and the underside is a lighter greyish-white colour.

These are nocturnal sharks however during the day time males and females prefer different environments. Females will hide away in crevices and rocks whereas males prefer to lie on the sea bed. They live off a diet of crustaceans and smaller fish however due to their small size they need to fend off bigger predators. They have rough skin like all sharks and will make themselves into a doughnut shape to look bigger and more difficult to eat.