Arabian carpetshark

The Arabian carpetshark, Chiloscyllium arabicum, is a small carpet shark of the family Hemiscylliidae that lives on coral reefs, in lagoons, along rocky coasts and in mangrove estuaries from the Persian Gulf to Pakistan and western India. Most individuals are found shallower than 10 metres, though the species has been recorded down to 100 metres. It grows to a maximum known length of 78 centimetres and has a slender, nearly cylindrical, plain tan to brown body, a long rounded snout, two widely spaced dorsal fins and a keel-like anal fin. It shelters in caves and crevices and preys on bony fishes, including snake eels, and on invertebrates. Reproduction is oviparous on an annual cycle: females lay egg capsules four at a time and the young hatch after 70 to 80 days. It is often taken as bycatch but seldom eaten, and the IUCN lists it as Near Threatened because of growing fishing pressure and habitat degradation. It adapts well to aquariums and has been bred in captivity.