Definition

Noun: 1. A small bottom-dwelling shark with cat-like eyes: A cat shark is a type of shark characterized by its relatively small size, its habit of living near the sea floor (bottom-dwelling), and its elongated, slit-like eyes that resemble those of a cat. These sharks are typically found along continental slopes.

Examples of Usage

• Scientists discovered a new species of cat shark during the deep-sea expedition.
• The aquarium has a tank dedicated to small, bottom-dwelling species like the cat shark.
• Unlike larger, pelagic sharks, the cat shark spends most of its time resting on the ocean floor.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in marine biology and ichthyology to categorize a specific group within the larger shark family.
• "Cat shark" can refer to any species within the family Scyliorhinidae, which contains over 150 species.

Variants and Related Words

• Scyliorhinid (noun): The scientific family name for cat sharks.
  • The scyliorhinids are the largest family of sharks.
• Bottom-dwelling shark (noun phrase): A descriptive term for sharks that live on the sea floor, which includes cat sharks.

Synonyms

• Ground shark (in a broad, informal sense for bottom-dwelling species).
• Dogfish (Note: This is a common name for another family of small sharks, the Squalidae, and is not a true synonym, though they are sometimes confused. True cat sharks belong to a different family, Scyliorhinidae).

Noun

1. small bottom-dwelling sharks with cat-like eyes; found along continental slopes