#2011 · 🦈 sharks & rays

Starry Smooth-hound

🇳🇱 Gevlekte gladde haai ·Mustelus asterias

NTnear threatened 🦈 Sharks & rays 📍 in the Netherlands

7 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © richie rocket · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
2. © Michael Bakker Paiva · CC BY 4.0
3. © Mags_cat · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
4. © Michael Bakker Paiva · CC BY 4.0
5. © Pieter Verbeek · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © kathystella · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. © Gonzalo Mucientes Sandoval · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The starry smooth-hound ( Mustelus asterias ) is a houndshark of the family Triakidae. It is found on the continental shelves of the northeast Atlantic, between latitudes 61° N and 16° N, from the surface to a depth of 200 m (660 ft). 4 m (4 ft 7 in).

base stats

NL sightings 7iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 156iNaturalist observations
threat NTnear threatened

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 7 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #6 most seen of the sharks & rays in NL.
156 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Hippolyte Cloquet in 1819 (207 years ago).

fact sheet

English: Starry Smooth-hound
Nederlands: Gevlekte gladde haai
scientific name: Mustelus asterias
class: Chondrichthyes
order: Carcharhiniformes
family: Triakidae
IUCN Red List: NT · near threatened
sightings in NL: 7
sightings in Europe: 124
sightings worldwide: 156
GBIF records in NL: 836
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1819 by Hippolyte Cloquet

IUCN in Dutch: gevoelig. Blank means the sources don't say.

relatives· Triakidae

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 106253, Wikidata Q2419006, GBIF 2418315, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.