Cirrhoscyllium expolitum... do they exist? and is FishBase accurate in its size estimation?

[Alpha_and_Gec]

Cirrhoscyllium expolitum, a carpetshark of the group parascyllidae, had caught my eye as a potential candidate for a shark more fit for home aquaria than the standard atelomycterus catshark or hemiscyllid, as FishBase and Shark References report a max size of 34 cm long, vastly smaller than the maximum length of its contemporaries(carpetsharks such as hemiscyllium ocellatum and chiloscyllium griseum). More importantly, I had recalled seeing this species for sale some years before, although I have no clue where or when that was.

I'm not planning to stock this animal for my current aquarium and likely would not consider it until when I have finished university and found sustainable income(sharks do be expensive), but I am quite curious whether this animal exists in captivity at all, whether it is bred, is it likely to maintain its small size or grow larger, or is there any relatives similar in size from its initial description. I have not found any reports of the animal in the wild other than the holotype, so my current assumption is that they are not kept in captivity.

TL.DR: found this shark when I was looking for tiny sharks I can keep, does it exist in captivity or has anyone heard of relatives of similar size?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Cirrhoscyllium expolitum, a carpetshark of the group parascyllidae, had caught my eye as a potential candidate for a shark more fit for home aquaria than the standard atelomycterus catshark or hemiscyllid, as FishBase and Shark References report a max size of 34 cm long, vastly smaller than the maximum length of its contemporaries(carpetsharks such as hemiscyllium ocellatum and chiloscyllium griseum). More importantly, I had recalled seeing this species for sale some years before, although I have no clue where or when that was.

I'm not planning to stock this animal for my current aquarium and likely would not consider it until when I have finished university and found sustainable income(sharks do be expensive), but I am quite curious whether this animal exists in captivity at all, whether it is bred, is it likely to maintain its small size or grow larger, or is there any relatives similar in size from its initial description. I have not found any reports of the animal in the wild other than the holotype, so my current assumption is that they are not kept in captivity.

TL.DR: found this shark when I was looking for tiny sharks I can keep, does it exist in captivity or has anyone heard of relatives of similar size?

I’ve never seen these in the trade. I had to look them up, they are a continental shelf species, 800’ or so. Too deep for aquarium collectors. In addition, they would need cold water. I’ve kept chain catsharks, an Atlantic continental species and they need to be kept below 60 degrees. My Japanese suppliers come up with some odd sharks from deeper water, but I’ve not seen them offer this genus.

I always wanted to get a Pygmy lantern shark - 9” and they are bioluminescent!

Jay

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

I’ve never seen these in the trade. I had to look them up, they are a continental shelf species, 800’ or so. Too deep for aquarium collectors. In addition, they would need cold water. I’ve kept chain catsharks, an Atlantic continental species and they need to be kept below 60 degrees. My Japanese suppliers come up with some odd sharks from deeper water, but I’ve not seen them offer this genus.

I always wanted to get a Pygmy lantern shark - 9” and they are bioluminescent!

Jay

If only lanternsharks were in the flashlightfish or god forbid the pineapple fish ecological niche, I'd reckon many people would be keeping them! I'd love a shark of their size, but most shark genera seem to floor out at round 30cm.

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

My original thought is to multiply the commonly cited epaulette shark(roughly a meter long average?) volume requirement(300something gallons) by the ratio of cirrhoscyllium size/epaulette size(not sure if square cube law applies here since we're only dealing with length), giving me a volume of round 100gal(102), which is a surprisingly reasonable size. Their conditions seem to be only fit for a catshark or flashlight fish tank though...

man I want a shark so bad, they're like the monitor lizard of fish...

 

[Aspect]

Definitely not, plus you would need to replicate the natural pressure of their environment and cool water in order to keep them healthy. Which would be extremely expensive and not feasible a residential aquarist. Your best bet if you want a shark is to get a 6' x 4' x 20" tank and get a Grey Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium Griseum).