Description
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 slit-like eyes are positioned high on the head, and are followed by tiny spiracles. The nostrils are preceded by laterally expanded flaps of skin that do not reach the mouth. The mouth is large and strongly arched, without furrows at the corners. There are 90–116 upper tooth rows and 97–110 lower tooth rows; each tooth has three central cusps and often 1–2 additional small, lateral cusplets. The upper teeth are exposed when the mouth is closed. The fourth and fifth pairs of gill slits lie over the pectoral fin bases and are shorter than the first three.
The pectoral fins are large and broad, with gently concave posterior margins. The first dorsal fin is rounded and originates over the forward half of the pelvic fin bases. The second dorsal fin is much smaller and somewhat triangular, originating over the anal fin. The pelvic fins are small; males have very long claspers. The anal fin is larger than the second dorsal fin and is rounded in juveniles, becoming more angular in adults. The large caudal fin has a distinct lower lobe and a deep ventral notch near the tip of the upper lobe. The skin is thick and made rough by widely spaced, arrowhead-shaped dermal denticles with three horizontal ridges. The dorsal coloration is brown to gray with 9–10 dark saddles closely alternating with lateral blotches, including a large round blotch encompassing the gill slits; the fins are dark above with variably pale margins. The underside is lighter than the back, sometimes with darker or lighter blotches. Juveniles have more regular and better-defined blotches than adults.
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