 The leopard catshark inhabits the temperate and subtropical inshore waters off South Africa , from Saldanha Bay in the west to the mouth of the Tugela River in the east . There are old and almost certainly erroneous records from Mauritius and Madagascar . Given the color pattern diversity within the species , its range is likely fragmented into a number of small local populations along the South African coast . Bottom @-@ dwelling in nature , the leopard catshark is most commonly encountered from the intertidal zone to a depth of 20 m ( 66 ft ) , though it has been reported from as deep as 256 m ( 840 ft ) on the uppermost portion of the continental slope . This species favors rocky reefs , kelp forests , and sandy flats off beaches . 
