---
title: "Dark Shyshark"
description: "Haploblepharus pictus — Fish. The dark shyshark or pretty happy (Haploblepharus pictus) is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/dark-shyshark
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Dark Shyshark

> Haploblepharus pictus — Fish. The dark shyshark or pretty happy (Haploblepharus pictus)  is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks.

- Scientific name: *Haploblepharus pictus*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 643
- Wikidata: [Q660343](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q660343)
- iNaturalist taxon: [102104](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/102104)

## Names

- en: Dark Shyshark
- de: Dunkler Katzenhai

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (500), NA (41)

## Summary

The dark shyshark or pretty happy (Haploblepharus pictus)  is a species of shark belonging to the family Pentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. This species is endemic to the temperate waters off southern Namibia and western South Africa. It is benthic in nature and inhabits shallow, inshore waters and favors rocky reefs and kelp forests. Growing to 60 cm (24 in) long, this small, stocky shark has a wide, flattened head with a rounded snout and a large flap of skin extending from before the nostrils to the mouth. Its dorsal coloration is extremely variable and may feature black-edged orange to blackish saddles and/or…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_shyshark

## Photo

![Dark Shyshark](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/dark-shyshark/medium.jpg)

Photo: bdhimes · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/282100036

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/dark-shyshark?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).