Species: Cirrhigaleus asper, Roughskin Spurdog, Roughskin Dogfish, Roughskin Dogfish Shark, Roughskin Spiny Dogfish

Cirrhigaleus asper (Merrett, 1973)

Roughskin Spiny Dogfish, Roughskin Spurdog, Roughskin Dogfish Shark

Body stocky; head and snout very broad, snout bluntly rounded, flat; eyes without nictitating membrane; large spiracles just behind eyes; front nasal flaps broad, with a short, stubby barbell; teeth similar in both jaws, small, compressed, a single point, strongly oblique and deeply notched; 5 gill slits, all before pectorals; a strong, long spine in front of each dorsal fin; first dorsal origin well behind pectoral fin, second dorsal about same size as first dorsal; pectoral fin broad, not sickle-shaped, free rear tip bluntly rounded, posterior margin almost straight; tail base flattened below, with a weak keel low on each side, upper tail base pit weak or absent, no lower tail base pit; no notch under tip of tail fin; skin very rough, denticles on side of body very broad, with three points.

Light brown to grey above, whitish below, no white spots on sides; tips and free rear edges of dorsal fins conspicuously white.

Size: 118 cm.

Habitat: soft and hard bottoms

Depth: 73-1462 m.

Scattered locations in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico.