---
title: "Formosa Swellshark"
description: "Cephaloscyllium formosanum — Vissen. The blotchy swellshark or Japanese swellshark (Cephaloscyllium umbratile) is a common species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/formosa-swellshark
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Formosa Swellshark

> Cephaloscyllium formosanum — Vissen. The blotchy swellshark or Japanese swellshark (Cephaloscyllium umbratile) is a common species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae.

- Scientific name: *Cephaloscyllium formosanum*
- Category: `fish` (Vissen)
- Habitats: `sea` (Zee en kust)
- iNaturalist observations: 2
- iNaturalist taxon: [1303420](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1303420)

## Names

- en: Formosa Swellshark

## Summary

The blotchy swellshark or Japanese swellshark (Cephaloscyllium umbratile) is a common species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae. The Blotchy swellshark is found at depths of 90–200 m (300–660 ft) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, from Japan to Taiwan. It is benthic in nature and favors rocky reefs. Reaching 1.4 m (4.6 ft) in length, this thick-bodied shark has a broad head, large mouth, and two unequally-sized dorsal fins positioned far back past the pelvic fins. It can be identified by its dorsal coloration, consisting of seven brown "saddles" and extensive darker mottling on a light tan background…

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

## Photo

![Formosa Swellshark](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/formosa-swellshark/medium.jpg)

Photo: Chao 江星辰 · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/351087316

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/formosa-swellshark?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).