lollipop catshark
cephalurus cephalus latin

The lollipop catshark is of no significance to fisheries.

The lollipop catshark is aplacental viviparous, with birthing apparently taking place in early summer.

The range of the lollipop catshark extends from the Gulf of California to off the southern Baja peninsula.

The lollipop catshark, Cephalurus cephalus, is a little-known species of deep sea catshark, family Scyliorhinidae, and the only described member of its genus.

The lollipop catshark was originally described by American ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert as Catulus cephalus, in the 1892 14th volume of Proceedings of the United States National Museum.

The lollipop catshark is so named because of its peculiar tadpole-like shape, with an enormously expanded head and branchial region (containing the gills) coupled with a slender, cylindrical body tapering towards the tail.

The enlarged gill region and expanded gill filaments of the lollipop catshark suggest that it is adapted for living in deep-sea basins with very low levels of dissolved oxygen and perhaps also high temperatures and salinity.