spotted houndshark

About 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 180 centimetres (71 in). The reproduction of this houndshark is ovoviviparous, with a litter of 14 pups being found in one female with a birth size of 30 to 40 centimetres (12 to 16 in). Their diet is believed to consist mainly of crustaceans.

The spotted houndshark grows to a length around 180 cm (71 in) or exceptionally 240 cm (94 in). It is a robust species with a rounded snout, widely separated, lobed nasal flaps, and long upper lip grooves that extend as far as the junction of the jawbones. The teeth have straight, erect cusps and are not blade-like. The first dorsal fin has a sloping posterior margin and the pectoral fins are broadly falcate (long and curved). Sometimes the body is uniform in colour but more often it is finely spotted with black.

The spotted houndshark is found on the continental shelves in the eastern Pacific, from the Galapagos Islands and Peru southwards to the north of Chile, between latitudes 0° and 30° S. Wikipedia →