Crying Izak

This moderately sized shark is distinguished from its congeners by the following characters: denticles on dorsal midline slightly enlarged, from a point level to the pectoral origin on the dorsal midline to the first dorsal origin; no enlarged denticles on the dorsal surface of the pectoral fin; no club-shaped papillae on the distal tip of the clasper; buccal papillae in mouth inconspicuous; moderate to high vertebral count, 121 total in the holotype 115 and 119 (mean 116.8) for the paratypes; relatively high tooth counts, 57 total upper teeth in the holotype (54, 59, mean 57.8 for the paratypes), 50 total lower teeth in the holotype (49, 63, mean 55.8 for the paratypes); large brown spots, stripes and blotches on a dull grey-brown background; a distinct tear line marking from the anterior of the orbit to the lateral margin of the snout; white spots absent (Ref. 75585).

The crying Izak (Holohalaelurus melanostigma) is a very rare catshark of the family Scyliorhinidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean off Mozambique and Tanzania, at depths of between 600 and 660 m. It can grow up to 38 cm in length.