Captive breeding and embryonic development of Chiloscyllium punctatum Muller & Henle, 1838 (Elasmobranchii: Hemiscyllidae)

The fecundity, embryonic development, growth and viability of captive Chiloscyllium punctatum were investigated over two breeding and laying seasons. Chiloscyllium punctatum is an oviparous species, which lays rectangular eggs from late July to February. The six adult female C. punctatum in the open ocean display tank at UnderWater World, Mooloolaba, Australia laid a total of 692 eggs between July 2004 and February 2006, with 228 of those being viable. This equates to each female laying 115·3 eggs over the two seasons, with 38 viable. The embryos are first visible to the naked eye at c. 18 days post deposition (dpd), while pre‐hatching is first seen c. 35 dpd, and the embryos hatch at an average of 153 dpd (temperature 21–25° C). Embryonic growth is most rapid from 99 dpd until hatching. An average of 21·4% of the eggs hatched over the two seasons.