The speckled smooth-hound (''Mustelus mento'') is a

houndshark Houndsharks, the Triakidae, are a family of ground sharks, consisting of about 40 species in nine genera. In some classifications, the family is split into two subfamilies, with '' Mustelus'', '' Scylliogaleus'', and ''Triakis'' in the subfamily ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Triakidae. It is found on the continental shelf of the eastern

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, between

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

s 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 The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...

. Its range extends from the Isla Lobos de Tierra in Peru to the southern tip of Chile. It is a demersal 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 The narrownose smooth-hound (''Mustelus schmitti'') is a houndshark of the family Triakidae. It is found on the continental shelves of the subtropical southwest Atlantic, from southern Brazil to northern Argentina, between latitudes 30° S and ...

(''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 Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

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 (''Mustelus whitneyi'') and the spotted houndshark (''Triakis maculata''), this fish is known to local fisheries as "tollo" and is caught by artisan fishermen using

gill net Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is ...

s. 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 Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

. In 2001, the Peruvian authorities introduced a minimum size requirement of for tollo. The speckled smooth-hound is assessed by the IUCN as being "critically endangered".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:smooth-hound, speckled speckled smooth-hound Western South American coastal fauna Fauna of Temperate South America speckled smooth-hound