in spring with a gap between August and October. On the Tunisian coast, the sharks lay their eggs starting in spring, peaking in the summer and then slightly decreasing during autumn. Males reach sexual maturity with a length of about . Females reach sexual maturity with a length of . Feeding S. canicula is an opportunistic species, preying on a wide variety of organisms. Decapod crustaceans, molluscs and fishes are their main prey, but echinoderms, polychaetes, sipunculids and tunicates may also be eaten. Dietary preferences change with age; younger animals prefer small crustaceans, while older animals prefer hermit crabs and molluscs. Feeding intensity is highest during the summer due to the higher availability of prey life. Diet composition varies with body size. There are no significant differences in feeding habits between male and female S. canicula. Juveniles of S. canicula feed by anchoring the prey item on the dermal denticles near their tail, and tearing bite-sized pieces off with rapid head and jaw movements, a behaviour known as "scale rasping". Use of dermal denticles to assist in feeding was first documented in this species. Psychology A study published in 2014 at Exeter University showed that individual small-spotted catsharks have different personality traits. Some individuals are more sociable than others, some more aggressive, some more exploratory in nature. Model organism S. canicula is well-suited for comparative analysis of gastrulation for several reasons. It is harvested in large numbers along all the coasts of Europe, and it is the only known elasmobranch species from which individuals at any stage of development can be obtained in abundance at any time of year. Fertilization is internal, but eggs are laid at early stages of development, before the formation of the blastocoel. Once laid, they can go on developing normally in the laboratory, simply in oxygenated seawater. The size and accessibility of the embryo makes analysis easier. Five well-characterized stages can be distinguished between the onset of gastrulation and the beginning of neurulation. Threat level S. canicula is one of the most abundant elasmobranchs in the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. It is regularly caught by near-shore fisheries, but the majority taken by commercial fishermen and recreational anglers are discarded. Studies have shown that post-discard survival rates are extremely high, around 98%. Although localized depletion may have occurred in some areas, surveys have shown that populations are stable or are even increasing throughout the majority of