Starry smooth-hound facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Starry smooth-hound |
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Mustelus
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| Species: |
asterias
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The starry smooth-hound (Mustelus asterias) is a type of houndshark. It belongs to the shark family called Triakidae. This shark lives in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. You can find it near the coast, on the underwater ledges called continental shelves. It lives from the surface down to about 200 meters deep.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
The starry smooth-hound can grow to be about 140 centimeters long. That's almost as tall as a person! It has a sleek, long body.
Its Colors and Spots
This shark is usually grey or brownish-grey. It gets its "starry" name from the small white spots all over its back. Its belly is white.
Body Features
It has a rounded snout, which is the front part of its head. Inside its mouth, it has rows of teeth that stick out a little. The shark has two fins on its back, called dorsal fins. They are similar in shape, but the one closer to its tail is a bit smaller. Its tail fin has a small dip in the top part.
Where Does It Live?
This houndshark lives in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Its home stretches from southern Norway and Scotland down to Algeria and Morocco. It lives all over the Mediterranean Sea, but not in the Black Sea.
Its Home in the Ocean
The starry smooth-hound likes to live on the continental shelf. This is the shallow part of the ocean floor near land. It also lives around islands. It prefers areas where the ocean floor is sandy or gravelly. These sharks usually stay in waters up to 200 meters deep.
Recent Sightings
Sometimes, these sharks are seen in unexpected places. In 2021, a starry smooth-hound was found in the Thames River in London. Another one was spotted in the Plymouth National Marine Park in April 2022.
Life Cycle and Diet
The starry smooth-hound mostly eats crustaceans. These are creatures with hard shells, like crabs and lobsters. It also enjoys eating molluscs, which include animals like clams and snails.
Reproduction
Starry smooth-hounds become adults when they are about 80 to 85 centimeters long. They are ovoviviparous. This means the mother keeps her eggs inside her body. The baby sharks grow inside the eggs, getting food from the egg yolk. They also get nutrients from the mother's body. When they are born, there are usually 7 to 15 babies in a group. Each newborn shark is about 30 centimeters long.
What Is Its Status?
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) keeps a list of threatened species. They have listed the starry smooth-hound as "near threatened". This means it could become threatened in the future if things don't change.
In the Mediterranean Sea
In the Mediterranean Sea, this shark is not as common. People often catch it for food, along with a similar shark called the common smooth-hound. Because of this, the number of starry smooth-hounds in the Mediterranean has gone down. If it weren't for how many there are in other places, it might be listed as "Vulnerable" in that area.
