Abstract
The reproductive biology of blacktip sawtail catsharks,Galeus sauteri, in northeastern Taiwan waters was investigated. Male catsharks possessed paired testes producing spermatozoa, which were then stored in the epididymides all year round. No spermatophores were observed in the lower ductus deferens. Only the right ovary was functional in females, oogonia being formed in the ovarian cortex and then developing into mature ova. Ova exceeding 17 mm in diameter were ovulated. Pregnant individuals contained one eggcase only, in each side of the uterus. No hatched embryos were observed in such eggcases. The size at which 50% of blacktip sawtail catshark specimens were mature was 410–420 mm and 350–360 mm for females and males, respectively. The species does not have a well-defined reproductive season.
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Chen, CT., Liao, YY. & Joung, SJ. Reproduction of the blacktip sawtail catshark,Galeus sauteri, in the waters off northeastern Taiwan. Ichthyological Research 43, 231–237 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02347595
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02347595