dogfish
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dogfish, (order Squaliformes), any of several small sharks making up an order of chondrichthyian fishes composed of the families Centrophoridae (gulper sharks), Dalatiidae, Echinorhinidae, Etmopteridae, Oxynotidae, Somniosidae, and Squalidae. In North America the name is also used for a freshwater fish, the bowfin.
The spiny dogfishes of the family Squalidae possess a sharp spine in front of each of their two dorsal fins. The most widely known species is Squalus acanthias, called the spiny dogfish, spurdog, or skittle dog. It is abundant along northern Atlantic and Pacific coasts; a closely related, if not identical, form inhabits the southern half of the world. The spiny dogfish is gray, with white spots, and is about 60 to 120 cm (2 to 4 feet) long. Often found in dense schools, it preys on fishes and various invertebrates. It is often a nuisance, as it takes baits and damages fishing nets, but it is edible and also yields liver oil and is ground for fertilizer. Its dorsal fin spines are associated with small venom glands and can cause painful wounds.
Selected dogfishes and spurdogs of the world
A selection of dogfishes and spurdogs is listed in the table.
| common name | scientific name | geographic range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data source: R. Froese and D. Pauly (eds.), FishBase (2015). World Wide Web electronic publication, www.fishbase.org, version (04/2015). | |||
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blacktailed spurdog | Squalus melanurus | western Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia |
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combtooth dogfish | Centroscyllium nigrum | eastern Pacific Ocean |
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cyrano spurdog | Squalus rancureli | western Pacific Ocean |
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granular dogfish | Centroscyllium granulatum | southwestern Atlantic Ocean |
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highfin dogfish | Centroscyllium excelsum | northwestern Pacific Ocean |
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hooktooth dogfish | Aculeola nigra | eastern Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Peru and Chile |
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knifetooth dogfish | Scymnodon ringens | eastern North Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles to Spain |
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longnose spurdog | Squalus blainvillei | eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea |
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longnose velvet dogfish | Centroscymnus crepidater | worldwide in continental slope regions |
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longsnout dogfish | Deania quadrispinosa | Southern Hemisphere |
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Mandarin dogfish | Cirrhigaleus barbifer | western Pacific Ocean |
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ornate dogfish | Centroscyllium ornatum | northern Indian Ocean: Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal |
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rough longnose dogfish | Deania histricosa | Madeira in the North Atlantic and Japan in the western Pacific |
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roughskin spurdog | Cirrhigaleus asper | western Atlantic, eastern Indian, and eastern Pacific oceans |
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shortnose spurdog | Squalus megalops | eastern Indian Ocean |
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shortnose velvet dogfish | Centroscymnus owstonii | Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans |
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shortspine spurdog | Squalus mitsukurii | temperate and tropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans |
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smallmouth velvet dogfish | Zameus squamulosus | tropical regions in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans |
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whitefin dogfish | Centroscyllium ritteri | northwestern Pacific Ocean |
Selected gulper sharks of the world
A selection of gulper sharks is listed in the table.
| common name | scientific name | geographic range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data source: R. Froese and D. Pauly (eds.), FishBase (2015). World Wide Web electronic publication, www.fishbase.org, version (04/2015). | |||
 |
dumb gulper shark | Centrophorus harrissoni | western Pacific Ocean near Australia and Tasmania |
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gulper shark | Centrophorus granulosus | Atlantic and Indian oceans and western Pacific Ocean |
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leafscale gulper shark | Centrophorus squamosus | Atlantic and Indian oceans and western Pacific Ocean |
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little gulper shark | Centrophorus uyato | Atlantic and Indian oceans and western Pacific Ocean |
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lowfin gulper shark | Centrophorus lusitanicus | eastern Atlantic Ocean, western Indian Ocean, and western Pacific Ocean |
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mosaic gulper shark | Centrophorus tessellatus | northwestern Pacific Ocean from Japan to the Hawaiian Islands |
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smallfin gulper shark | Centrophorus moluccensis | western Indian and western Pacific oceans |