What is "houndshark"

Houndfish \Hound"fish\, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any small shark of the genus Galeus or Mustelus, of which there are several species, as the smooth houndfish ( Galeus canis), of Europe and America; -- called also houndshark, and dogfish.

Note: The European nursehound, or small-spotted dogfish, is Scyllium canicula; the rough houndfish, or large-spotted dogfish, is Scyllium catulus. The name has also sometimes been applied to the bluefish ( Pomatomus saltatrix), and to the silver gar.

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 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.