each eye is a minute spiracle. The large mouth is wide and curved, with well-developed furrows at the corners. The teeth have narrow central cusps flanked by up to three pairs of cusplets on either side. There are five pairs of gill slits. The first and second dorsal fins originate over the rear of the pelvic fins and the middle of the anal fin respectively. The dorsal fins are similar in shape and size, both having blunt apexes. The pectoral fins are large and broad, with rounded corners. The pelvic and anal fins are rather small and low, with angular corners. The anal fin base measures around 11–13% of the total length, comparable to the distance between the dorsal fins and greatly exceeding the distance between the pelvic and anal fins. The caudal peduncle is compressed from side to side and leads to a low caudal fin, which has a small lower lobe and a ventral notch near the tip of the upper lobe. The dermal denticles are small and overlapping, each with a leaf-shaped crown bearing a median ridge and three marginal teeth. There is a saw-like crest of enlarged denticles along the anterior portion of the upper caudal fin margin. The body and tail are dusky with a covering of fine black dots; young sharks may also have a series of darker brown saddle markings outlined in white. The caudal fin margin is white, and the inside of the mouth is typically blackish. Biology and ecology Little is known of the natural history of the peppered catshark. Reproduction is oviparous and apparently takes place between May and September. Newly mature females carry only 2–3 eggs, while the largest females may carry 10 or more eggs at a time; each egg is contained within a distinctively olive-green capsule around long. The egg cases are consumed by the Pacific angelshark (Squatina california). The young sharks hatch at a length of . Mathews (1984) reported females maturing at a length of , while Compagno (1984) reported males and females maturing at lengths of and respectively. Human interactions The peppered catshark generally lives beyond the depths utilized by commercial fisheries in the Gulf of California. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as of Least Concern. References peppered catshark Fish of the Gulf of California peppered catshark