Description:-

Small shark with stout body with expanded belly; labial furrows absent but a vestigial lower labial furrow may be present; anterior nasal flaps are broadly triangular; head depressed, flattened and broad, rounded in dorsal and ventrally; mouth large and arched; 5 gill slits, dorsolaterally placed and last two gill slits over pectorals, the 1-3 gill slits are subequal in length, 5th smallest; eyes dorsolateral and slit like; large mouth, arched or crescentic; mouth width 0.6 times HL; first dorsal origin slightly in front of pelvic insertion and placed above pelvics. Dorsal surface light brown with clearly defined seven broad dark brown bands, paler brown ventrally, no spots. Caudal tip and ventral side of caudal are also with a small dark band/blotch. Juveniles have similar colour pattern but faded and light brown Akhilesh et al. (2014).

Threats:-

In Kerala caught occasionally in trawl nets.

Remark:-

Found on the uppermost continental slope. Probably a dwarf species. Oviparous. Since the original description by Talwar (1974), reports of this species are absent due to rarity of specimens and Akhilesh et al. (2014) rediscovered the species from Kerala coast and provided detailed morphological description.

Habitat:-

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range up to 300 m

Synonyms:-

References:-

Akhilesh, K.V., K.K. Bineesh, S.S. Mishra, U. Ganga and N.G.K. Pillai, 2014. Notes on the Indian swellshark, Cephaloscyllium silasi (Scyliorhinidae: Carcharhiniformes) from deep waters off the west coast of India. Mar. Biodiv. Rec. 7:1-5.
Bailly, N. (2015). Atelomycterus marmoratus (Anonymous [Bennett], 1830). In: Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2015) FishBase. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=279790 on 2015-06-03
Compagno, L.J.V., Dando, M. and Fowler, S.L. 2005. Sharks of the World. Harper Collins.
Compagno, L.J.V. 2001. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Volume 2. Bullhead, Mackerel and Carpet Sharks (Heterodontiformes, Lamniformes and Orectolobiformes). FAO, Rome.
Talwar P.K. (1974) On a new bathypelagic shark, Scyliorhinus (Halaelurus) silasi (Fam. Scyliorhinidae) from the Arabian Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India 14, 779–783.
Venkataraman, K., John Milton, M.C. and Raghuram, K.P. 2003. Handbook on Sharks of Indian Waters: Diversity, Fishery status, Trade and Conservation. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.
http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=sharks&id=325