This shark has a lot of common names. The gummy dogfish, gummy shark, Japanese smooth hound, spotted shark, star-spotted gummy shark, star-spotted shark, star-spotted smooth hound, star-spotted smooth-hound, topes, and hound shark. Phew, what a mouthful! TFUI will refer to them as the star-spotted smooth hound (Mustelus manazo). As TFUI has said before, Mustelus comes from the Latin word "mustela" which means weasel. Getting up to 3.15 kg (6.94 lbs) and commonly measuring 62-68 cm in length, these short lived (they are believed to only live 10 years) animals can be found in the intertidal zone with soft substrate (mud or sand). They are found down to a depth of at least 360 metres. In this range, they eat bottom-dwelling invertebrates and small fish. Due to their small size, they may even be prey themselves (for larger sharks)! The star-spotted smooth hound is viviparous with yolk-sac with a gestation period of 10-12 months. Litter sizes are around 8 pups, with the young being born during springtime. A houndshark of the family Triakidae, they are caught as bycatch regularly by demersal longliners operating both inshore and in deep-water. #Finfact: These sharks are eaten by humans! The IUCN has assessed these animals as Data Deficient (DD). what new #finfact did you learn about this animal?glossary
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AuthorTFUI Founder Melissa C. Marquez is author of all animal bios and "Behind the Fins" segments. SEE MELISSA'S TEDx TALK HERE:
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