South Africa country information

Common names: Hondhaai, Smooth-hound
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: common (usually seen) | Ref: Compagno, L.J.V., D.A. Ebert and M.J. Smale, 1989
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: no regulations | Ref: van der Elst, R., 1993
Uses: gamefish: yes;
Comments: Ranges from the west coast to Natal. Caught during shore-based angling tournaments off the Cape; sometimes caught by offshore trawlers (Ref. 12484). Seldom utilized as a food fish (Ref. 12484). Angling record 27 kg (Ref. 12484). Also Ref. 244, 5485, 9987.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Compagno, L.J.V., D.A. Ebert and M.J. Smale, 1989
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Émissole lisse, Musola, 星鲨, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Triakidae (Houndsharks) > Triakinae
Etymology: Mustelus: Latin for weasel, an ancient name for sharks, possibly referring to the pointed snouts, swift movements and/or rapacious feeding behavior of smaller predatory sharks [strictly not tautonymous with Squalus mustelus Linnaeus 1758 since type was designated by the ICZN]. (See ETYFish); mustelus: Latin for weasel, an ancient name for sharks, possibly referring to the pointed snouts, swift movements and/or rapacious feeding behavior of smaller predatory sharks. (See ETYFish).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range 5 - 624 m (Ref. 56504), usually 5 - 50 m (Ref. 244). Temperate; 58°N - 34°S, 19°W - 36°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: from the UK in the northeast Atlantic, south, including the Mediterranean Sea, Canary Islands, Morocco and south along the western African coast to eastern South Africa (Ref. 244, 127434). Often referred to as Mustelus canis which is restricted to the western Atlantic.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ?, range 80 - ? cm
Max length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27000); common length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26999); max. reported age: 24 years (Ref. 30745)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. A large, plain or black-spotted smoothhound (Ref. 5578). Uniformly grey or greyish-brown above, white below (Ref. 5578).

Found on the continental shelves and uppermost slopes, from the intertidal region to at least 350 m depth (Ref. 244). Collected to depth of 624 m in the eastern Ionian Sea (Ref. 56504). Sometimes in midwater but prefers to swim near the bottom (Ref. 244). Feeds mainly on crustaceans, but also cephalopods and bony fishes (Ref. 244). Viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta (Ref. 244). Taken by shore and ski-boat anglers (Ref. 5578). Utilized for human consumption, oil, and fishmeal (Ref. 244). Sexual maturity is reached at a length of 70-80 cm (Ref. 35388).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta; 4 to 17 (Ref. 39938) young in a litter. Size at birth about 39 cm. Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Endangered (EN) (A2bd); Date assessed: 04 August 2020

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes

FAO(Fisheries: production; publication : search) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators

Ecology
Ecology
Home ranges

Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances

Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics

Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos

Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths

Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)

Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities

Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.

Outreach
Collaborators

Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures

References
References

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 9.8 - 27.3, mean 15.3 (based on 910 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00191 (0.00164 - 0.00221), b=3.12 (3.08 - 3.16), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.3 ±0.7 se; based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.06-0.12; tm=6-15; tmax=24; Fec=4).

Prior r = 0.06, 95% CL = 0.04 - 0.09, Based on 1 full stock assessment.

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): High to very high vulnerability (74 of 100).

Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649): Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Medium.

Mustelus mustelus (Linnaeus, 1758)