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Spurdogs
Squalus
Squalus is a genus of dogfish sharks in the family Squalidae. Commonly known as spurdogs, these sharks are characterized by smooth dorsal fin spines, teeth in upper and lower jaws similar in size, caudal peduncle with lateral keels; upper precaudal pit usually present, and caudal fin without subterminal notch. In spurdogs, the hyomandibula (the bone connecting the braincase to the jaws) is oriented at a right angle to the neurocranium, while in other sharks, the hyomandibula runs more parallel to the body. This led some to think that the upper jaw of Squalus would not be as protractile as the jaws of other sharks. However, a study that compared different jaw suspension types in sharks showed that this is not the case and that Squalus is quite capable of protruding its upper jaw during feeding.
The name comes from squalus, the Latin for shark; this word is the root for numerous words related to sharks such as squaline and scientific names for sharks, such as the order Squaliformes.
38 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 38 known species
Spiny Dogfish
speciesSqualus acanthias
North Pacific Spiny Dogfish
speciesSqualus suckleyi
Blainville's dogfish
speciesSqualus blainville
Japanese Spurdog
speciesSqualus japonicus
Northern Spiny Dogfish
speciesSqualus griffini
Spikey Dogfish
speciesSqualus megalops
Philippine Spurdog
speciesSqualus montalbani
Genie's Dogfish
speciesSqualus clarkae
Shortnose Spurdog
speciesSqualus brevirostris
Cuban Dogfish
speciesSqualus cubensis
Taiwan Spurdog
speciesSqualus formosus
Hawaiian Spurdog
speciesSqualus hawaiiensis
Eastern Longnose Spurdog
speciesSqualus grahami
Shortspine Spurdog
speciesSqualus mitsukurii
Brazilian Whitetail Dogfish
speciesSqualus albicaudus
Smith's Dogfish
speciesSqualus margaretsmithae
Bluntnose Spiny Dogfish
speciesSqualus acutipinnis
Eastern Highfin Spurdog
speciesSqualus albifrons
Western Longnose Spurdog
speciesSqualus nasutus
Kermadec Spurdog
speciesSqualus raoulensis
Western Highfin Spurdog
speciesSqualus altipinnis
Long-snouted African Spurdog
speciesSqualus bassi
Northeastern Brazilian Dogfish
speciesSqualus bahiensis
Atlantic Lobefin Dogfish
speciesSqualus lobularis
West African Spiny Dogfish
speciesSqualus probatovi
Indonesian Shortsnout Spurdog
speciesSqualus hemipinnis
Western Longnose Spurdog
speciesSqualus edmundsi
Bighead Spurdog
speciesSqualus bucephalus
Greeneye Spurdog
speciesSqualus chloroculus
Squalus acutirostris
speciesSqualus acutirostris
Boretz's Dogfish
speciesSqualus boretzi
Fatspine Spurdog
speciesSqualus crassispinus
Seychelles Spurdog
speciesSqualus lalannei
Malagasy Skinny Spurdog
speciesSqualus mahia
Blacktailed Spurdog
speciesSqualus melanurus
Bartail Spurdog
speciesSqualus notocaudatus
Humpback Western Dogfish
speciesSqualus quasimodo
Nipponic Dogfish
speciesSqualus shiraii
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Squalus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 52311.