Species: Mustelus canis, Dusky smooth-hound shark, Dusky smooth-hound, Smooth dogfish, Smooth dogfish shark

snout short

teeth low, flat
Mustelus canis (Mitchill, 1815)
Dusky smooth-hound shark, Smooth dogfish
Elongate and slender, relatively flat on ventral surface; a low pointed skin ridge on midline of back; head flattened on top; snout relatively short (5-5.8% of TL); eyes oval, moderately large (2.2-2.4% of TL), close together, with longitudinal nictitating eyelid; spiracles small but prominent; space between nostrils broad, 2.7-3.6% of TL; mouth relatively broad, 4.7-6.8% of TL; labial furrows longer on upper jaw longer than lower, 1.6-2.7% of TL; teeth small, oval, low, in several rows in a mosaic or pavement pattern, cutting edges bluntly rounded; 5 gill slits, last two over pectoral fin; two dorsal fins, both with tips rounded, and deeply concave rear margins and acute rear corners, first dorsal higher than second, origin over back of pectoral base; anal fin origin under mid-point of second dorsal; pectoral fins broad; tail fin low, blunt tip, top lobe with a well developed sub-terminal notch, ventral lobe small, rounded; dermal denticles on flank elongate, single point.
Back olive or slaty grey, variable with substrate; belly yellowish or whitish grey; posterior margin of first dorsal fin whitish in young.
Size: 152 cm.
Habitat: dwells on bottom in coastal waters, generally on muddy bottoms.
Depth: 7-808 m.
Canada to Uruguay.
Note: Two subspecies are recognized, M. c. canis from the continental shore and M. c. insularis from the Greater and Lesser Antilles.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Brackish
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Near Bottom
- Bottom
- Bottom + water column
- Habitat
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- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom only
- Water column
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Estuary
- Mud
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Bony fishes
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Mobile benthic worms
- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Live birth
- Data
- No pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- West Atlantic Endemic
- All species.
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Also in Brazil
- Continent + Island (s)
- All species..
- Extends N + S of GC
- Island (s)
- Extends North of GC
- Continent
- Extends South of GC
- GC non-endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Temperate (>35N)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Near threatened
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 152
- Depth Range Min
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- 7
- Depth Range Max
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- 808