Swellshark
Cephaloscyllium ventriosum
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassElasmobranchii
- OrderCarcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)
- FamilyScyliorhinidae (Catsharks)
- GenusCephaloscyllium (Swellsharks)
- SpeciesCephaloscyllium ventriosum (Swellshark)
The swell shark (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum) is a catshark in the family Scyliorhinidae. It is found in the tropical and subtropical eastern Pacific Ocean from between central California to southern Mexico, with an additional population off the coast of Chile. They are known to have brown and white spots along with broad heads. As a defense, the swell shark is able to expand to approximately double its regular size by swallowing water. They depend on electrical signals to find prey, camouflaging in rocky crevices. Wikipedia →
20–30% of wildlife watchers report a Swellshark sighting in Channel Islands National Park, based on 11 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Channel Islands National Park
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Swellshark in Channel Islands National Park?
About 22% of wildlife watchers report a Swellshark sighting in Channel Islands National Park, based on 11 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Swellshark in Channel Islands National Park?
November has the highest sighting rate for Swellshark in Channel Islands National Park in our monthly data.