Houndshark

Houndsharks
Temporal range: Paleocene–Recent
Leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Selachimorpha
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Triakidae
J. E. Gray, 1851

Houndsharks, the Triakidae, are a family of ground sharks, consisting of about 40 species in nine genera. In some classifications, the family is split into two subfamilies, with Mustelus, Scylliogaleus, and Triakis in the subfamily Triakinae, and the remaining genera in the subfamily Galeorhininae.

Houndsharks are distinguished by possessing two large, spineless dorsal fins, an anal fin, and oval eyes with nictitating eyelids. They are small to medium in size, ranging from 37 to 220 cm (1.21 to 7.22 ft) in adult length. They are found throughout the world in warm and temperate waters, where they feed on fish and invertebrates on the seabed and in midwater.[1]

Genera

Cladogram

See also

References

  1. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2009). "Triakidae" in FishBase. January 2009 version.
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