Starspotted smooth-hound
Mustelus manazo
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Starspotted smooth-hound
- Scientific
- Mustelus manazo
- Dhivehi
- ހޮނޑު މިޔަރުHon’du miyaru
- Group
- Sharks
- Family
- Triakidae (houndsharks)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 2.2 m (total length); max. published weight 5.7 kg (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. about 1.2 m
- Depth and habitat
- On or near the bottom, recorded from 0 to 360 m
- IUCN status
- EN · EndangeredEndangered (EN), assessed 2020
Description
A slender houndshark, grey to grey-brown above and pale below, usually with small white spots on the sides, reaching about 2.2 m. It lives on soft bottoms and feeds on small fish, molluscs and crustaceans.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name hondu miyaru (MRS 1997). MRS notes Maldivian specimens come from outer atoll slopes at 100 to 200 m and lack the usual white spots. Sharks are fully protected in the Maldives (since 2010).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Mustelus-manazo.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ހޮނޑު_މިޔަރު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Mustelus_manazo_Marinepia.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Hon’du miyaru' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ހޮނޑު މިޔަރު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.