Pacific spiny dogfish
Squalus suckleyi (Girard, 1855)
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.
A spiny dogfish photographed in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Washington, USA.
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Open encyclopedia reference
The Pacific spiny dogfish (Squalus suckleyi) is a common species of the Squalidae (dogfish) family of sharks and are among the most abundant species of sharks in the world. This species is closely related to the Spiny dogfish and for many years they were treated as a single species. Recent research, using meristic, morphological and molecular data led to the resurrection of the Pacific spiny dogfish as a separate species. The American Fisheries Society recommends the common name "Pacific spiny dogfish" for Squalus suckleyi over alternatives such as "spotted spiny dogfish" and "North Pacific spiny dogfish" and "spiny dogfish" for Squalus acanthias. The maximum length of a Pacific dogfish can be 160 centimetres (63 in), and they can live up to 100 years. Squalus suckleyi has a slower growth rate, larger maximum size, and later maturity compared to Squalus acanthias species. The slower growth rate and time of maturity could be related to the colder temperatures these sharks face. Pacific spiny dogfish prefer to be in temperatures ranging from 7 to 15 °C (45 to 59 °F).
Wikipedia contributors, Pacific spiny dogfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:38:12.704502+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Squalus suckleyi (Girard, 1855)
- Name authority
- (Girard, 1855)
- Common name
- Pacific spiny dogfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Squaliformes
- Family
- Squalidae
- Genus
- Squalus
- 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
- superorderSqualomorphi
- orderSqualiformes Compagno, 1973
- familySqualidae de Blainville, 1816
- genusSqualus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesSqualus suckleyi (Girard, 1855)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Squalus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Squalus bahiensis Viana, Carvalho & Gomes, 2016 | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Squalus bassi Viana, Carvalho & Ebert, 2017 | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Japanese shortnose spurdogSqualus brevirostris Tanaka, 1917 | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Longnose spurdogSqualus blainville (Risso, 1827) | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Squalus acutipinnis Regan, 1908 | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Squalus altipinnis Last, White & Stevens, 2007 | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Squalus albifrons Last, White & Stevens, 2007 | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Squalus hemipinnis White, Last & Yearsley, 2007 | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Squalus chloroculus Last, White & Motomura, 2007 | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Squalus crassispinus Last, Edmunds & Yearsley, 2007 | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cuban dogfishSqualus cubensis Howell Rivero, 1936 | SqualidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Squalus mahia Viana, Lisher & Carvalho, 2017 | SqualidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Acanthias suckleyi (Girard, 1855) (Girard, 1855) | synonym |
| Acanthias sucklii (Girard, 1855) (Girard, 1855) | synonym |
| Spinax suckleyi Girard, 1855 Girard, 1855 | synonym |
| Squalus sucklii (Girard, 1855) (Girard, 1855) | 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=299224 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.
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:6ZFP3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.