The spotted estuary smooth-hound or rig (''Mustelus lenticulatus'') is a

houndshark 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 ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Triakidae, found on the

continental shelves A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

and in estuaries around New Zealand. It is closely related to the

gummy shark The gummy shark (''Mustelus antarcticus''), also known as the Australian smooth hound, flake, sweet william or smooth dog-shark, is a shark in the family Triakidae. These small to medium-sized bottom-dwelling sharks are found mostly in, but are ...

(''Mustelus antarcticus'') of Australia. Males can grow up to a length of 125 cm, while females can reach a length of 151 cm. It is commercially fished, and is commonly served in

fish and chip Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of liv ...

shops in New Zealand under the name "lemonfish". In June 2018 the New Zealand

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

classified the spotted estuary smooth-hound as "Not Threatened" with the qualifier "Conservation Dependent" under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spotted estuary smooth-hound spotted estuary smooth-hound Endemic marine fish of New Zealand spotted estuary smooth-hound