Greater Spotted Dogfish

Fact File: Common Name(s):Greater Spotted Dogfish (Bull Huss - Nurse Hound) Scientific Name:Scyliorhinus stellaris (Linnaeus, 1758) Usual Size:To 162cm UK Record Weights from rod/line: Shore:19lb 14oz Boat:22lb 4oz MAFF Minimum Size: Shore: Boat:

Identification: The upper and underside of the body is pale or dark brown and appears to be mottled, as is covered with a series of small and large black (sometimes white) spots and the under side tends to be paler in colour. Nasal flaps are seperate and are not continuous with the upper lip. Origin (start) of dorsal fins above / forward of the rear margins of the pelvic and anal fins. Breeding: Oviparous (egg laying) Probably only 1 or 2 egg cases deposited per season, hatching at 16cm. Believed to be mature when over 100cm Habitat: Found at depths between 1/2m to at least 125m, although most commonly found at 20/63m. Likes a rough or rocky bottom and areas where there is algae covering. Food: Molluscs (mussels and oysters) crustaceans (crabs, lobsters and squat lobsters and prawns) and boney fish; small species like Pout, Poor Cod and Whiting. with larger sharks taking cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish and octopus) Range: Eastern North Atlantic known down to Senegal. Located both inshore and offshore Additional Notes: REFERENCES: A Field Guide to The Sharks of British Coastal Waters - Vas 1991 FAO Species Catalogue 4 - Sharks of The World - Compagno Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean - Whitehead, Bauchot, Hureau, Nielsen, Tortonese Key to the Fishes of Northern Europe - Wheeler

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