Alan Davidson

Dogfish, Lesser Spotted Dogfish, Rough Hound

Scyliorhinus canicula (Linnaeus)

Appears in
top 1000North Atlantic Seafood
North Atlantic Seafood

By Alan Davidson

Published 1980

  • About

Family Scyliorhinidae

  • Portuguese: Pintaroxa
  • Spanish: Pintarroja, Gato
  • French: Petite roussette
  • Dutch: Hondshaai
  • German: Kleingefleckter Kaltenhai
  • Polish: Rekinek
  • Russian: Morskoĭ kot
  • Swedish: Småfläckig rödhaj
  • Norwegian: Småflekket rødhai
  • Danish: Småplettet rødhaj
  • Other: Morgay (Scotland and Cornwall); Morgi meiaf (Welsh)

REMARKS Maximum length about 100 cm. A sandy or brown fish with lots of little brown spots on the back and sides.

This is a common dogfish in European Atlantic waters. Scyliorhinus stellaris (Linnaeus), the larger-spotted dogfish, may be twice the size and has relatively larger spots, but is much less common.