smooth dogfish
Mustelus canis (Mitchill, 1815)
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 dusky smooth-hound (Mustelus canis), also called the smooth dogfish or the dog shark, is a species of houndshark in the family Triakidae. This shark is an olive grey or brown in color, and may have shades of yellow or grayish white. Females live to 16 years and males have a lifespan of 10 years. M. canis was the first shark recognised to have viral infections.
Wikipedia contributors, Dusky smooth-hound; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:19:32.301645+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mustelus canis (Mitchill, 1815)
- Name authority
- (Mitchill, 1815)
- Common name
- smooth dogfish
- 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 canis (Mitchill, 1815)
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 |
| gray smoothhoundMustelus californicus Gill, 1864 | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Mustelus canis insularis Heemstra, 1997 Heemstra, 1997 | synonym |
| Cynias canis (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815) | synonym |
| Squalus canis Mitchill, 1815 Mitchill, 1815 | ambiguous synonym |
| Mustelus canis canis (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815) | synonym |
| Allomycter dissutus Guitart Manday, 1972 Guitart Manday, 1972 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=158518 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:44QZX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.