Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish - Macaw Pets store

The spiny dogfish is the most prominent member of the
Squalidae family of dogfish sharks. Some live in relatively
shallow water close to shore; others inhabit great depths.
They vary widely in length, and one of their chief anatomical
characteristics is the lack of an anal fin.
Identification. The body of the spiny dogfish is elongate
and slender. The head is pointed. The color is slate gray to
brownish on top, sometimes with white spots, and fading
to white below. It has spines at the beginning of both dorsal
fins; these spines are mildly poisonous and provide a
defense for the spiny dogfish.
Size/Age. Spiny dogfish are common at 2 to 3 feet in
length; the maximum size is about 63 inches and 20
pounds. In California waters, a large fat female will be
roughly 4 feet long and will weigh 15 pounds. In the northwestern
Atlantic, maximum ages reported for males and
females are 35 and 40 years, respectively.
Life history. Spiny dogfish tend to school by size and, for
large mature individuals, by sex. Females are larger than
males and produce from 3 to 14 young at a time in alternate
years. The species bears live young and has a gestation
period of about 18 to 22 months. Spiny dogfish are long
lived and nonmigratory; heavy commercial fishing pressure
in a given area will rapidly lower populations of this slowgrowing,
low-reproductive species.
Food and feeding habits. The spiny dogfish is voracious
and feeds on practically all smaller fish, including herring,
sardines, anchovies, smelt, and even small spiny dogfish
and crabs. They have been known to attack schools of herring
and mackerel, as well as concentrations of haddock,
cod, sand lance, and other species.
Dogfish, Spiny
Squalus acanthias
OTHER NAMES
dogfish, dog shark, grayfish,
Pacific grayfish, Pacific
dogfish, spinarola, California
dogfish, blue dog,
common spiny fish, spiny
dogfish, picked fish, spiky
dog, spotted spiny, spurdog,
white-spotted dogfish,
Victorian spotted dogfish;
French: aiguillat; Italian:
spinarolo; Japanese: aburatsunozame;
Portuguese:
galhudo; Russian: katran;
Spanish: galludo.
Distribution. Spiny dogfish
occur in temperate and
subtropical waters. In the
western Atlantic, they
range from Greenland to
Argentina; in the eastern
Pacific, they range from the
Bering Sea to Chile.
Habitat. This species is
common in nearshore
waters along some coasts
and may be found in
enclosed bays and estuaries;
it generally inhabits deep
waters and typically favors
the bottom. In temperate
waters during the spring
and the fall, spiny dogfish
can range into coastal
waters, heading more
northerly in the summer. In
the winter, they are distributed
primarily in deeper
waters along the edge of
the continental shelf.
Dogfish, Spiny 65