Head to head
Small-spotted Catshark vs Roughskin Dogfish
Small-spotted Catshark
VS Roughskin Dogfish
The small-spotted catshark and the roughskin dogfish are both small sharks with rough skin, but one is a familiar shallow-water species and the other a rarely seen deep-sea one.
| Small-spotted Catshark | Roughskin Dogfish | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Scyliorhinus canicula | Centroscymnus owstonii |
| Relationship | A small shark in the catshark family | A small deep-sea shark in a different family |
| Habitat | Sandy, muddy, and rocky sea beds of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean | Deep continental slopes, far below where sunlight penetrates |
| Skin | Rough, with skin that feels like sandpaper | Covered in unusually coarse, enlarged dermal denticles, giving a distinctly sandpaper-like texture even by shark standards |
| Light | Does not produce light | Has light-producing photophores along its belly, used to counter-illuminate its silhouette against sunlight from above |
| Diet | Crabs, shrimps, molluscs, worms, and small fish, found mostly at night | Fish, squid, and other cephalopods captured in the deep, dark waters it inhabits |
| Reproduction | Lays tough, oblong egg cases with curly tendrils that anchor them to seaweed | Gives birth to live young that develop inside the mother |
| Conservation status | Least Concern, widespread and abundant | Near Threatened, recorded across scattered locations in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans |
Small-spotted Catshark vs Roughskin Dogfish: common questions
Which one lays eggs?
The small-spotted catshark, which lays tough, oblong egg cases that wash up on beaches as mermaid's purses, while the roughskin dogfish gives birth to live young.
Which one glows?
The roughskin dogfish, which has light-producing photophores along its belly that help it hide in the deep sea.
Which one lives in the deep sea?
The roughskin dogfish, which lives on deep continental slopes, far below where sunlight penetrates.