gray smoothhound
Mustelus californicus Gill, 1864
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The gray smooth-hound (also spelled as smoothhound) (Mustelus californicus) is a houndshark of the family Triakidae. It is spotless and smooth with a narrow head and long blunted snout. This shark is found on continental shelves of the subtropical eastern Pacific. Its range extends from northern California to the Gulf of California (between latitudes 40° N and 23° N), usually residing in waters less than 80 meters (262 ft 6 in) deep. Adults are between 0.5 and 1.6 meters (1 ft 8 in to 5 ft 3 in) long. Furthermore, this shark is viviparous with an egg yolk placenta. Reproduction occurs annually and inland estuaries are common nursery grounds. Although there is little data on the shark's population trends and catch quantities, the gray smooth-hound is not considered as vulnerable to overfishing. Additionally, there have been three reported sightings of albinism in this species, which is rare for elasmobranchs (rays and sharks).
Wikipedia contributors, Gray smooth-hound; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:00:15.023412+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mustelus californicus Gill, 1864
- Name authority
- Gill, 1864
- Common name
- gray smoothhound
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Triakidae
- Genus
- Mustelus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassSelachii
- superorderGaleomorphi
- orderCarcharhiniformes
- familyTriakidae Gray, 1851
- subfamilyTriakinae Gray, 1851
- genusMustelus Linck, 1790
- speciesMustelus californicus Gill, 1864
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Mustelus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Mustelus antarcticus Günther, 1870 | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| smooth dogfishMustelus canis (Mitchill, 1815) | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mustelus fasciatus (Garman, 1913) | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mustelus lenticulatus Phillipps, 1932 | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mustelus mento Cope, 1877 | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| smooth houndMustelus mustelus (Linnaeus, 1758) | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Florida smoothhoundMustelus norrisi Springer, 1939 | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| whitespotted smooth-houndMustelus palumbes Smith, 1957 | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blackspotted smoothhoundMustelus punctulatus Risso, 1827 | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mustelus ravidus White & Last, 2006 | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mustelus stevensi White & Last, 2008 | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mustelus widodoi White & Last, 2006 | TriakidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Gill, T. N. (1864). Second contribution to the selachology of California. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, v. 16 (no. 3): 147–151. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:44QZT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.