View source for Biology:Haploblepharus

{{Short description|Genus of sharks}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = haploblepharus_edwardsii_Puffadder_shyshark.jpg
| image_caption = [[Biology:Puffadder shyshark|Puffadder shyshark]] (''H. edwardsii'')
| taxon = Haploblepharus
| authority = Garman, 1913
| type_species = ''[[Biology:Puffadder shyshark|Squalus edwardsii]]''
| type_species_authority = Schinz 1822
}}

'''''Haploblepharus''''' is a [[Biology:Genus|genus]] of [[Biology:Catshark|catshark]], and part of the family [[Biology:Scyliorhinidae|Scyliorhinidae]], containing four [[Biology:Species|species]] of '''shysharks'''. Their [[Biology:Common name|common name]] comes from a distinctive defensive behavior in which the shark curls into a circle and covers its eyes with its tail. The genus is [[Biology:Endemism|endemic]] to [[Place:Southern Africa|southern Africa]], inhabiting shallow coastal waters. All four species are small, stout-bodied sharks with broad, flattened heads and rounded snouts. They are characterized by very large [[Medicine:Nostril|nostril]]s with enlarged, triangular flaps of skin that reach the mouth, and deep grooves between the nostrils and the mouth. Shysharks are bottom-dwelling predators of bony fishes and [[Biology:Invertebrate|invertebrate]]s. They are oviparous, with the females laying egg capsules. These harmless sharks are of no commercial or recreational interest, though their highly limited distributions in heavily fished South African waters are of potential conservation concern.

==Taxonomy and phylogeny==
The genus ''Haploblepharus'' was created by American zoologist Samuel Garman in 1913, in the 36th volume of ''Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at Harvard College'', to contain the [[Biology:Puffadder shyshark|puffadder shyshark]], then known as ''Squalus edwardsii''.<ref name="compagno">{{cite book |author=Compagno, L.J.V. |date=1984 |title=Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date |place=Rome |publisher=Food and Agricultural Organization |isbn=92-5-101384-5 |page=332}}</ref> The name is derived from the Greek ''haplóos'' meaning "single", and ''blepharos'' meaning "eyelid".<ref name="bester">Bester, C. [http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/PuffadderShyshark/PuffadderShyshark.html Biological Profiles: Puffadder Shyshark]. Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on August 31, 2009.</ref>

In 1988, Leonard Compagno placed ''Haploblepharus'' with ''[[Biology:Halaelurus|Halaelurus]]'' and ''[[Biology:Holohalaelurus|Holohalaelurus]]'' in the tribe Halaelurini of the family Scyliorhinidae, based on [[Biology:Morphology|morphological]] characters. This interpretation was corroborated by a 2006 phylogenetic analysis based on three [[Biology:Mitochondrial DNA|mitochondrial DNA]] [[Biology:Gene|gene]]s. However, that study also found that within this group ''Haploblepharus'' is most closely related to the genus ''Halaelurus'', which is inconsistent with the presence of three [[Biology:Autapomorphy|autapomorphic traits]] in ''Haploblepharus'' that are not shared by either ''Halaelurus'' or ''Holohalaelurus''. Within the genus, the puffadder shyshark is the most [[Biology:Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] species.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2005.09.009 |author=Human, B.A. |author2=E.P. Owen |author3=L.J.V. Compagno |author4=E.H. Harley |name-list-style=amp |title=Testing morphologically based phylogenetic theories within the cartilaginous fishes with molecular data, with special reference to the catshark family (Chondrichthyes; Scyliorhinidae) and the interrelationships within them |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=39 |issue=2 |date=May 2006 |pages=384&ndash;391 |pmid=16293425}}</ref>

==Species==
* ''[[Biology:Puffadder shyshark|Haploblepharus edwardsii]]'' <small>(Schinz, 1822)</small> (puffadder shyshark)
* ''[[Biology:Brown shyshark|Haploblepharus fuscus]]'' <small>J. L. B. Smith, 1950</small> (brown shyshark)
* ''[[Biology:Natal shyshark|Haploblepharus kistnasamyi]]'' <small>Human & Compagno, 2006</small> (Natal shyshark)
* ''[[Biology:Dark shyshark|Haploblepharus pictus]]'' <small>(J. P. Müller & Henle, 1838)</small> (dark shyshark)

==Distribution and habitat==
All four shyshark species are [[Biology:Endemism|endemic]] to the [[Place:Southern Africa|southern tip of Africa]]; three of them are found only off {{wipe|South Africa}}, while the range of the dark shyshark extends to southern Namibia. They are bottom-dwelling in nature and usually found in shallow, coastal waters over sandy or rocky bottoms.<ref name="compagno"/>

==Description==
[[File:Haploblepharus pictus newport 2.jpg|thumb|240px|The broad, flattened head of a dark shyshark]]
Different shyshark species are very similar to one another in appearance but can be reliably differentiated using morphological measurements. However, in the field the only way to readily tell them apart is by their different color patterns, and even this may be problematic as individuals of the same species can vary considerably in coloration.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Human, B.A. |title=Size-corrected shape variation analysis and quantitative species discrimination in a morphologically conservative catshark genus, ''Haploblepharus'' Garman, 1913 (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhiniformes: Scyliorhinidae) |journal=African Natural History |date=2007 |volume=3 |pages=59–73}}</ref> All four species are small, seldom exceeding {{convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length.<ref>{{cite book |title=Smiths' Sea Fishes |author=Smith, J.L.B. |author2=M.M. Smith |author3=P.C. Heemstra |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Struik |date=2003 |isbn=1-86872-890-0 |pages=91–92}}</ref>

A shyshark has a stout, spindle-shaped body and a short head comprising less than one-fifth of the total length. The head is broad and dorsally flattened, with a rounded snout. The large, oval eyes have cat-like slit [[Biology:Pupil|pupil]]s, a rudimentary [[Biology:Nictitating membrane|nictitating membrane]] (protective third [[Biology:Eyelid|eyelid]]), and a prominent ridge running underneath. A distinguishing trait of this genus are the large [[Medicine:Nostril|nostril]]s partially covered by greatly expanded, triangular flaps of skin that overlap the mouth and cover a pair of deep grooves between the nasal excurrent (outflow) openings and the mouth. The mouth is short and curved, with furrows at the corners extending onto both jaws. The teeth have a central cusp and smaller lateral cusplets. The five pairs of [[Biology:Gill slit|gill slit]]s are located on the upper side of the body.<ref name="compagno"/>

The two dorsal fins are set far back on the body, the first originating behind the [[Biology:Pelvic fin|pelvic fin]] midbases and the second originating behind the anal fin midbase. The pectoral fins are moderately large; the dorsal, pelvic, and anal fins are of similar size. The broad caudal fin comprises a fifth of the total length; the upper lobe has a deep ventral notch near the tip and the lower lobe is virtually absent. The skin is thick and covered by well-[[Biology:Calcification|calcified]], leaf-shaped dermal denticles. The coloration is brown above and white below; the brown shyshark is usually plain while the other species have varying patterns of darker "saddles" and white spots.<ref name="compagno"/>

==Biology and ecology==
[[File:Puffadder shyshark egg case.jpg|thumb|The egg case of a puffadder shyshark]]
Shysharks feed on a variety of small benthic bony fishes and [[Biology:Invertebrate|invertebrate]]s. In turn, they are preyed upon by larger fishes and [[Biology:Marine mammal|marine mammal]]s. When threatened, these sharks adopt a curious posture in which they curl their bodies into a ring and cover their eyes with their tails, which is the origin of the name "shyshark".<ref name="compagno"/> This behavior likely serves to make the shark more difficult for a predator to swallow. Shysharks are oviparous with females producing egg capsules (known as "mermaid's purses") two at a time. Reproduction has been investigated in the puffadder and dark shysharks; neither species appears to have a distinct breeding season, and their eggs take around three and a half weeks to hatch.<ref name="dainty">Dainty, A.M. (2002). Biology and ecology of four catshark species in the southwestern Cape, South Africa. M.Sc. thesis, University of Cape Town.</ref>

==Human interactions==
Due to their small size, shysharks pose no danger to humans and are not sought by either commercial or recreational fishers. They are taken as bycatch and hooked by shore anglers, who regard them (and other catsharks) as minor pests. Although shysharks are not uncommon, their extremely limited distribution within heavily fished waters raises concerns that a local increase in fishing pressure or habitat degradation could affect entire species populations. As a result, the [[Organization:International Union for Conservation of Nature|International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) has assessed two shyshark species as Near Threatened.<ref name="fowler et al">{{cite book |author=Fowler, S.L. |author2=R.D. Cavanagh |author3=M. Camhi |author4=G.H. Burgess |author5=G.M. Cailliet |author6=S.V. Fordham |author7=C.A. Simpfendorfer |author8=J.A. Musick |name-list-style=amp |title=Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras: The Status of the Chondrichthyan Fishes |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |date=2005 |isbn=2-8317-0700-5 |pages=265&ndash;266}}</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Haploblepharus| ]]
[[Category:Shark genera]]

{{Sourceattribution|Haploblepharus}}