Florida smoothhound
Mustelus norrisi Springer, 1939
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 narrowfin smooth-hound or Florida smooth-hound (Mustelus norrisi) is a houndshark of the family Triakidae. It is found on the continental shelves of the subtropical western Atlantic, from Florida and the northern Gulf of Mexico to Venezuela, and also southern Brazil, between latitudes 32° N and 36° S, from the surface to a depth of 100 m. It can grow up to a length of 1.1 m.
It can be distinguished from sympatric M. canis by the lower lobe on its heterocercal tail fin, which is sharply pointed and posteriorly directed in M. norrisi. Additionally, the distance between the nostrils, located on the ventral surface of the head, is smaller in M. norrisi than in M. canis.
Wikipedia contributors, Narrowfin smooth-hound; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:40:48.804445+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mustelus norrisi Springer, 1939
- Name authority
- Springer, 1939
- Common name
- Florida 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 norrisi Springer, 1939
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 |
| 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 |
| 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.
- Springer, S. (1939). Two new Atlantic species of dog sharks, with a key to the species of Mustelus. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, v. 86 (no. 3058): 461–468. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.86-3058.461 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:44R2X. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.