The speckled smooth-hound (''Mustelus mento'') is a houndshark of the family Triakidae. It is found on the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

of the eastern Pacific, between latitudes 0° and 54° S, at depths between . It can reach a length of . Collectively with certain other species of shark, it is known as "tollo".

Description

The speckled smooth-hound is a robust shark with a moderately long, blunt snout, small eyes, short mouth and molar-like teeth without cusps. The trailing edge of the dorsal fins have small, pointed projections. The pectoral fins are large and the pelvic fins moderately large. The caudal peduncle is short and the lower lobe of the tail fin is narrow and slightly curved. The maximum length is about with maturity being reached by males at about and females at about . Adults are grey or greyish-brown above and paler below, liberally speckled with white spots. Juveniles have dark bars.

Distribution

The speckled smooth-hound is found off the Pacific coast of South America, including the Galapagos Islands and the Juan Fernández Islands. Its range extends from the Isla Lobos de Tierra in Peru to the southern tip of Chile. It is a

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

fish and swims close to the seabed on the continental shelf at depths of between . Reports of this fish occurring in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Argentina are thought to be erroneous, and are likely to refer to the narrownose smooth-hound (''Mustelus schmitti''), another shark that is speckled with white spots. Mustelus mento jaws.jpg, Jaws Mustelus mento upper teeth.jpg, Upper teeth Mustelus mento lower teeth.jpg, Lower teeth

Biology

The speckled smooth-hound is ovoviviparous with eggs that develop within the female and hatch into juvenile fish which are about at birth. Litter sizes are typically seven.

Status

Along with the

humpback smooth-hound The humpback smooth-hound (''Mustelus whitneyi'') is a houndshark of the family Triakidae. It is found on the continental shelves of the tropical southeast Pacific, from Peru to southern Chile, between latitudes 3° S and 54° S, at depths betw ...

(''Mustelus whitneyi'') and the

spotted houndshark The spotted houndshark, ''Triakis maculata'', is a houndshark of the family Triakidae found in tropical waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America. It usually grows to a length around . The reproduction of this houndshark ...

(''Triakis maculata''), this fish is known to local fisheries as "tollo" and is caught by artisan fishermen using gill nets. Landings in Chile peaked in 1989 at around 1300 tons but have since dwindled to less than 200 tons a year, with fish stocks declining and a transfer of the fisheries to targeting rays. In 2001, the Peruvian authorities introduced a minimum size requirement of for tollo. The speckled smooth-hound is assessed by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

as being "critically endangered".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:smooth-hound, speckled

speckled smooth-hound The speckled smooth-hound (''Mustelus mento'') is a houndshark of the family Triakidae. It is found on the continental shelf of the eastern Pacific, between latitudes 0° and 54° S, at depths between . It can reach a length of . Collectively ...

Western South American coastal fauna Fauna of Temperate South America