Author: (Linnaeus, 1758)
Mustelus mustelus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Mustelus mustelus (Linnaeus, 1758) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: snout gently rounded; inter-nostril distance greater than 1.4 times nostril width; upper labial furrows slightly longer than lowers. Teeth asymmetrical, primary cusp low, accessory cusplet present in juveniles. Gill-slits approximately equal in length. First dorsal fin origin over free pectoral tip; second dorsal fin similar in shape to first, slightly smaller; pectoral fins broadly triangular; sub-terminal notch on upper caudal lobe large; lower caudal lobe moderately developed. Denticles lanceolate to weakly tridentate, with 2-6 prominent ridges along whole length of scale. Colour: uniform grey to brown above, white below. Size: to 150 cm TL, mature at approximately 75 cm TL.
Habitat: coastal demersal species, usually above 150 m. Food: crabs, fishes, molluscs. Reproduction: viviparous, 4-10 pups, born at 35 cm TL.
Distribution: Madeira and Morocco northward to British Isles, also whole of Mediterranean. Elsewhere, the Canaries, also the Çape Cerde Is. (possibly a subspecies).
Complementary iconography. Bonaparte, 1834, fasc. 8, fig. 2 | Lozano Rey, 1928, fig. 106,110-112 | Tortonese, 1956, fig. 72-76.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Lo Bianco, 1909: 513-761 | Ranzi, 1932: 262; 1934: 384 | Cabo, 1945: 1-15 | Capapé, 1974a: 330.