Distribution and Habitat
Endemic to the southern tip of Africa, the range of the Izak catshark extends from Lüderitz, Namibia in the west to Durban, South Africa in the east. Older records further north along the East African coast (e.g. Somalia) most likely refer to other Holohalaelurus species. This abundant, bottom-dwelling species inhabits the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, from 40 m (130 ft) to at least 1,075 m (3,527 ft) deep. Off South Africa, it is most common in areas with a wider continental shelf, and at depths of 100–200 m (330–660 ft) off the south coast and 200–300 m (660–980 ft) off the west coast. Females and juveniles tend to be found in shallower water than males. For the most part, the number of sharks in a given area remains largely constant throughout the year. However, sharks at the southernmost point of the Agulhas Bank may perform a small autumn migration towards the shore.
Read more about this topic: Izak Catshark
Famous quotes containing the words distribution and/or habitat:
“The man who pretends that the distribution of income in this country reflects the distribution of ability or character is an ignoramus. The man who says that it could by any possible political device be made to do so is an unpractical visionary. But the man who says that it ought to do so is something worse than an ignoramous and more disastrous than a visionary: he is, in the profoundest Scriptural sense of the word, a fool.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Nature is the mother and the habitat of man, even if sometimes a stepmother and an unfriendly home.”
—John Dewey (1859–1952)