Spotted houndshark facts for kids
The spotted houndshark, Triakis maculata, is a type of houndshark. It lives in warm waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, near the coast of South America. This shark usually grows to be about 180 centimeters (about 6 feet) long.
Quick facts for kids Spotted houndshark |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Triakis
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| Species: |
maculata
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Contents
What Does It Look Like?
The spotted houndshark can grow to about 180 cm (71 in) long. Some rare ones can even reach 240 cm (94 in). It is a strong shark with a rounded snout, which is its nose area. Its nose flaps are wide apart and have lobes. It also has long grooves on its upper lip that reach its jawbones.
Its teeth are straight and point upwards. They are not sharp like blades. The first fin on its back, called the dorsal fin, has a sloped back edge. Its side fins, called pectoral fins, are broad and curved like a sickle. The shark's body can be a single color. But often, it has many small black spots all over it.
Where Does It Live?
The spotted houndshark lives on the continental shelves in the eastern Pacific Ocean. You can find it from the Galapagos Islands and Peru. Its home range goes south to the north of Chile. This area is between the 0° and 30° S latitudes.
How Does It Reproduce?
Spotted houndsharks have a special way of having babies. It is called ovoviviparous reproduction. This means the eggs hatch inside the mother's body. The baby sharks then grow inside her until they are ready to be born live. One mother shark was found with 14 pups. These baby sharks were about 30 to 40 centimetres (12 to 16 in) long when they were born.
What Does It Eat?
Scientists believe that spotted houndsharks mainly eat crustaceans. Crustaceans are sea animals with hard shells, like crabs and shrimp.
Is It In Danger?
People catch the spotted houndshark for food. They use fishing nets called gillnets. Sometimes, they also use trawling, which is pulling a large net through the water. This fishing happens mostly in Peru. It is part of local small-scale fishing. The spotted houndshark is often caught with two other types of smooth-hounds.
The spotted houndshark is probably less common than these other two fish. Its total numbers seem to be going down. To help, rules have been made about the smallest size of shark that can be caught. However, this size limit is quite low. It is smaller than the size the fish reach when they are old enough to have babies.
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has looked at this fish. They have said its conservation status is "Critically Endangered." This means it is at a very high risk of becoming extinct. Fishing pressure has gone down a bit for this shark. This is because people are catching fewer of the main fish they used to target. More watching is needed to see if the shark's population will start to grow again.
