Author: Gill, 1862
Diagnostic Features:
Body cylindrical, with prominent ridges on sides. Head broad conical, and somewhat flattened, without lateral flaps of skin, snout very broadly rounded or truncated; eyes laterally situated on head, without subocular pockets; spiracles subequal in size to eyes but not below them; gill slits small, fifth overlapping fourth; internal gill slits without filter screens; nostrils with short pointed barbels but without circumnarial folds and grooves; mouth moderately large, subterminal on head, and transverse, without a symphyseal groove on chin; teeth not strongly differentiated in jaws, with a medial cusp, lateral cusplets and weak labial root lobes; 28 to 33/22 to 32. Caudal peduncle without lateral keels or precaudal pits. First dorsal larger than second, with brigin expanded well ahead of pelvic origins and insertion about over the pelvic bases; pectoral fins rather large, broad and rounded, much larger than pelvic fins, with fin radials partly into fin web but falling well short of its distal edge; pelvic fins smaller than first dorsal but larger than second dorsal and as large or larger than anal fin; anal fin larger than second dorsal, with its origin about opposite second dorsal midbase or insertion; anal fin with broad base and angular apex, separated by a space or narrow notch much less than base length from lower caudal origin; caudal fin with its upper lobe at a low angle above the body axis, about half as long as the entire shark, with a strong terminal lobe and subterminal notch but no ventral lobe. Supraorbital crests present on cranium, these laterally expanded. Valvular intestine of ring type. Colour pattern of dark saddles in young, changing to dark spots in adults.
Interest to Fisheries:
See the account of the single species.
Remarks:
This family is recognized following the work of Applegate (1974) and Compagno (1973c).