Revised 5 Sept. 2023
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Hound Sharks
Subfamily TRIAKINAE Gray 1851
Mustelus Linck 1790 from mustela (L.), weasel, an ancient name for sharks, possibly referring to pointed snouts, swift movements and/or rapacious feeding behavior of smaller predatory sharks [strictly not tautonymous with Squalus mustelus Linnaeus 1758 since type was designated by the ICZN]
Mustelus albipinnis Castro-Aguirre, Antuna-Mendiola, González-Acosta & De la Cruz-Agüero 2005 albus (L.), white; pinnis, Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, i.e., finned, referring to white margin around dorsal, pectoral, pelvic and anal fins
Mustelus andamanensis White, Arunrugstichai & Naylor 2021 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Andaman Sea, Thailand, only known area of occurrence
Mustelus antarcticus Günther 1870 Latin for southern, referring to its distribution in the southern Pacific around Australia
Mustelus asterias Cloquet 1819 asterías (Gr. ἀστερίας), a starred or starry fish or bird, referring to many small white spots on dorsal (upper) surface of body
Mustelus californicus Gill 1864 –icus (L.), belonging to: California, referring to its common occurrence along the coast of California (USA)
Mustelus canis (Mitchill 1815) Latin for dog; sharks were derogatorily called “dogs” or “sea dogs” in ancient times due to the threat they posed to humans and their unpalatability except as food for the poor
Mustelus canis insularis Heemstra 1997 Latin for of islands, referring to its occurrence at several Caribbean islands (Cuba, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Puerto Rico, Nevis Island, Sint Eustatius, the Bahamas and Bermuda), where it appears to be the only species of Mustelus
Mustelus dorsalis Gill 1864 Latin for “of the back,” referring to “projection of the posterior angle of the first dorsal fin to the vertical of the origin of the ventrals”
Mustelus fasciatus (Garman 1913) Latin for banded, referring to vertical dark bars on body (at least in young)
Mustelus griseus Pietschmann 1908 Medieval Latin for gray, referring to gray or gray-brown color
Mustelus henlei (Gill 1863) in honor of Friedrich Gustav Jacob Henle (1807–1885), German physician, pathologist and anatomist, who, along with Johann Müller, produced the first authoritative work on sharks (1839–1841)
Mustelus higmani Springer & Lowe 1963 in honor of American fisheries biologist James B. Higman (1922–2009), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for his “initial interest in the species and his care in the preparation of excellent notes on its natural history” while serving as an observer on the vessel from which it was collected
Mustelus lenticulatus Phillipps 1932 Latin for freckled, referring to peppering of white spots on upper sides
Mustelus lunulatus Jordan & Gilbert 1882 Latin for somewhat moon-shaped, referring to the concave margins of its fins
Mustelus manazo Bleeker 1854 Japanese vernacular for this shark
Mustelus mento Cope 1877 from mentum (L.), chin, referring to its “long muzzle”
Mustelus minicanis Heemstra 1997 mini-, from minimus (L.), least; canis (L.), dog, being a dwarf version of M. canis
Mustelus mosis Hemprich & Ehrenberg 1899 etymology not explained (no written description); since mosis is the Latin spelling of Moses, possibly an allusion to this shark’s type locality in the Red Sea
Mustelus mustelus (Linnaeus 1758) from mustela (L.), weasel, an ancient name for sharks, possibly referring to pointed snouts, swift movements and/or rapacious feeding behavior of smaller predatory sharks
Mustelus norrisi Springer 1939 in honor of American zoologist Harry Waldo Norris (1862–1946), Grinnell College (Iowa), who studied the cranial nerves of the Spiny Dogfish Squalus acanthias
Mustelus palumbes Smith 1957 Latin for wood-pigeon or ring-dove, referring to its dove-gray coloration
Mustelus punctulatus Risso 1827 diminutive of punctum (L.), spot, i.e., having tiny spots, referring to small black spots often present on body
Mustelus ravidus White & Last 2006 Latin for grayish, referring to its pale-gray dorsal coloration
Mustelus schmitti Springer 1939 in honor of American biologist Waldo L. Schmitt (1887–1977), curator of marine invertebrates at the U.S. National Museum, who collected holotype
Mustelus sinusmexicanus Heemstra 1997 –anus (L.), belonging to: sinus (L.), bay or gulf, referring to the Gulf of Mexico, type locality
Mustelus stevensi White & Last 2008 in honor of John Stevens (b. 1947), Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (Australia), who has “dedicated a lifetime to researching sharks around the world, and who has contributed greatly to our knowledge of sharks and rays in Australia”
Mustelus whitneyi Chirichigno F. 1973 in honor of American fisheries biologist Richard R. Whitney (1927–2011), for his teachings and guidance during the author’s study of sharks
Mustelus widodoi White & Last 2006 in honor of the late Johannes Widodo (1944–2005), Research Institute of Marine Fisheries (Jakarta, Indonesia), “whose research on the shark and ray fisheries of Indonesia has provided important baseline data for this important faunal region”
Scylliogaleus Boulenger 1902 etymology not explained, presumably a combination of Scyllium and galeus, i.e., a “galeid” shark with “nostrils as in Scyllium” (=Scyliorhinus, Scyliorhinidae)
Scylliogaleus quecketti Boulenger 1902 in honor of London-born conchologist John Frederick Whitlie Quekett (1849–1913), Curator, Durban Museum (South Africa), who provided holotype [Boulenger consistently misspelled Quekett’s name as “Queckett”]
Triakis Müller & Henle 1838 tri-, from tres (L.), three; akís (Gr. ἀκίς), point, referring to each tooth consisting of one large central cusp flanked on by both sides by a small cusplet
Triakis acutipinna Kato 1968 acutus (L.), sharp or pointed; pinna (L.), fin, referring to its sharp-tipped fins
Triakis maculata Kner & Steindachner 1867 Latin for spotted, referring to many small black spots on body (some specimens are unspotted)
Triakis megalopterus (Smith 1839) large-finned, from megas (Gr.), large, and pterus, from pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to its broad, large fins
Triakis scyllium Müller & Henle 1839 Latinization of skýlion (Gr. σκύλιον), small dog or whelp, i.e., a small shark (sharks were derogatorily called “dogs” or “sea dogs” in ancient times)
Triakis semifasciata Girard 1855 semi-, from semis (L.), half; fasciata (L.), banded, referring to striking black saddle marks that cover only dorsal half of body
School Sharks
Subfamily GALEORHININAE Gill 1862
Furgaleus Whitley 1951 fur, Latin for thief (Whitley said “‘shark” or villain”); galeus, from galeos, a small shark or dogfish per Aristotle (sometimes translated as weasel, possibly referring to pointed snouts, swift movements and/or rapacious feeding behavior of smaller predatory sharks) [replacement name for Fur Whitley 1943, preoccupied by Fur Jones 1940 in Diptera]
Furgaleus macki (Whitley 1943) in honor of British-born ichthyologist-ornithologist George Mack (1899–1963), National Museum, Melbourne, Australia
Galeorhinus Blainville 1816 galeo, probably based on G. galeus (see below); rhinus, an ancient name for sharks, from rhinós (Gr. ῥινός), skin or hide of a beast, or from rhínē (Gr. ῥίνη), rasp, both apparently alluding to a shark’s rough skin
Galeorhinus galeus (Linnaeus 1758) from galeos, a small shark or dogfish per Aristotle (sometimes translated as weasel), possibly referring to pointed snouts, swift movements and/or rapacious feeding behavior of smaller predatory sharks)
Gogolia Compagno 1973 -ia (L. suffix), belonging to: Gogol River, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea, type locality
Gogolia filewoodi Compagno 1973 in honor of Australian biologist Lionel Winston Filewood (1936–2014), Biologist-In-Charge, Department of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries, Konedobu, Papua New Guinea, for his work on the poorly known elasmobranch fauna of New Guinea; he intended to describe this shark with Compagno but was unable to do so, whereupon he “generously relinquished” both the task and the holotype to his collaborator
Hemitriakis Herre 1923 hemi-, from hḗmisys (Gr. ἥμισυς), half, being a genus that Herre believed was “most closely related” to Triakis
Hemitriakis abdita Compagno & Stevens 1993 Latin for hidden, referring to the close external similarity of this sibling species to H. falcata
Hemitriakis complicofasciata Takahashi & Nakaya 2004 complico (L.), complicated; fasciata (L.), striped, referring to complex body color pattern of young specimens
Hemitriakis falcata Compagno & Stevens 1993 Latin for sickle-shaped, referring to strongly curved fins of adults
Hemitriakis indroyonoi White, Compagno & Dharmadi 2009 in honor of Indroyono Soesilo (b. 1955), geologist, engineer and Chairman, Marine and Fisheries Research Agency (Jakarta, Indonesia), “who has provided a great deal of support for shark research in Indonesia and was a strong advocate for the production of the field guide to sharks and rays of Indonesia”
Hemitriakis japanica (Müller & Henle 1839) –ica (L.), belonging to: Japan, type locality
Hemitriakis leucoperiptera Herre 1923 leuco-, from leukós (Gr. λευκός), white; perí (Gr. περί), around; ptera, from pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to white margin around fins
Hypogaleus Smith 1957 hypó (Gr. ὑπό), less than, under or beneath, allusion not explained, perhaps alluding to its original position as a subgenus of Galeus
Hypogaleus hyugaensis (Miyosi 1939) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Hyuga Nada, Japan, type locality
Iago Compagno & Springer 1971 name of villain in Shakespeare’s Othello, referring to how members of this genus have been a “troublemaker for systematists and hence a kind of villain”
Iago garricki Fourmanoir & Rivaton 1979 patronym not identified but clearly in honor of J. A. F. (Jack) Garrick (1928–2018), New Zealand shark biologist
Iago mangalorensis (Cubelio, Remya & Kurup 2011) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Mangalore, South India, type locality
Iago omanensis (Norman 1939) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Gulf of Oman, type locality