Starspotted smooth-hound

Mustelus manazo

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Endangered

Usual depth15–177 m
Water temperature14–29 °C
Best monthsJanuary, June, and July
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Austin 0201, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The starspotted smooth-hound is a houndshark of the family Triakidae. It is a medium-sized shark with irregular white spots across its body. It is found in Northwestern Pacific as well as Kenyan water. This shark mainly inhabits shallow seas and feeds on benthic animals. This shark is ovoviviparous and gives birth to 2-6 larvae per clutch. Currently, due to overfishing, this species is on the edge of extinction.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Starspotted smooth-hound”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 10 records
February: 4 records
March: 5 records
April: 4 records
May: 8 records
June: 10 records
July: 11 records
August: 3 records
September: 4 records
October: 9 records
November: 4 records
December: 3 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 15–177 m · Deepest record: 450 m

10–20 m: 8 records
20–30 m: 19 records
30–40 m: 25 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110–120 m: 0 records
120+ m: 13 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 14–29 °C

12–14 °C: 2 records
14–16 °C: 1 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 83 records
20–22 °C: 2 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 6 records
26–28 °C: 9 records
28–30 °C: 3 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Wang J.P., some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Starspotted smooth-hound, Japanese smooth hound, Star-spotted gummy shark, Star-spotted shark, starspotted smooth-hound

Names in 6 more languages

German: Sternenfleck-Glatthai, Sternflecken-Glatthai
Spanish: Musola celestial
French: Emissole etoilée, Emissole etoilée, Emissole étoilée
Japanese: Hoshizame, ホシザメ
Thai: ปลาฉลามหมาจุดขาวใหญ่
Simplified Chinese: 平滑鮫, 星貂鯊, 沙條, 白斑星鯊, 花點母

Other scientific names: Galeorhinus manazo, Mustelus monazo, Myrmillo manazo

Similar species

Australian Smooth Hound
Mustelus antarcticus
Gummy Shark
Mustelus lenticulatus
Smooth hound
Mustelus mustelus
Western Spotted Gummy Shark
Mustelus stevensi
Whitefin Smooth-hound
Mustelus widodoi
Andaman Smoothhound
Mustelus andamanensis

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
169 open-data records from 1922 to 2021.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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