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Squalus suckleyi (Girard, 1855)
Puget Sound Dogfish; Spotted Spiny Dogfish
Family: Squalidae
Introduction to the Fish

Photograph

© Tim Loh     (Photo ID #127771)

Map

Introduction


The Spotted Spiny Dogfish (Squalus suckleyi) was recently recognized as a distinct species from the more global species Squalus acanthias following a taxonomic re-evaluation (Ebert et al. 2010). It is considered endemic to the Northwest Pacific, ranging from Korea and Japan to Russia, the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands, then eastwards in the Gulf of Alaska, south to Baja California. (Ebert et al. 2010).

Species Information

Vertebrae: 97 - 106. This large-sized, slender bodied species is distinguished by the following set of characters: body slender, trunk height 10.8 (8.3-12.0)% TL; snout rounded, somewhat blunted at apex, it is relatively short, with prenarial length 1.4 (1.3-1.5) times mouth width, preoral length 2.0 (2.1) times prenarial length, 9.1 (8.6-9.5)% TL; eye moderate-sized, its length 3.8 (3.2-3.9)% TL; anterior nasal flap simple, no secondary lobe; dorsal fins small, raked; first dorsal originates just posterior to free-rear tip of pectoral fin, the first dorsal-fin spine moderate, relatively narrow-based; pectoral fin lobe-like, not or weakly falcate; flank denticles broadly unicuspidate to weakly tricuspidate.

Source: FishBase. Ebert, D.A., W.T. White, K.J. Goldman, L.J.V. Compagno, T.S. Daly-Engel and R.D. Ward. 2010

Biology

Species Biology

The species appears to prefer water temperatures between 7 and 15°C, and often makes longitudinal and depth migrations to follow this temperature preference.

Source: FishBase. Ebert, D.A., W.T. White, K.J. Goldman, L.J.V. Compagno, T.S. Daly-Engel and R.D. Ward. 2010

Distribution

Distribution

North Pacific: Korea, Japan, northward to Russia (Kamchatka, Sea of Okhotsk and Sakhalin), the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands; eastwards in the Gulf of Alaska, British Columbia and Washington south to southern Baja California.

Source: FishBase. Ebert, D.A., W.T. White, K.J. Goldman, L.J.V. Compagno, T.S. Daly-Engel and R.D. Ward. 2010

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)		COSEWIC
NativeSNRNo StatusSC (Nov 2011)



BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Additional Range and Status Information Links

NatureServe Explorer
 University of Alaska Museum

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