| Spotted estuary smooth-hound | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Selachii |
| Order: | Carcharhiniformes |
| Family: | Triakidae |
| Genus: | Mustelus |
| Species: | M. lenticulatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Mustelus lenticulatus Phillipps, 1932
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The spotted estuary smooth-hound or rig (Mustelus lenticulatus; Māori: makō)[2] is a houndshark of the family Triakidae, found on the continental shelves and in estuaries around New Zealand.[3] It is closely related to the gummy shark (Mustelus antarcticus) of Australia.[4] Males can grow up to a length of 125 cm (49 in), while females can reach a length of 151 cm (59 in).[3] In 2025, rigs were found to be one of the few known sharks capable of sound production, namely, "clicks."[5]
It is commercially fished, and is commonly served in fish and chip shops in New Zealand under the name "lemonfish".[6] In June 2018 the New Zealand Department of Conservation classified the spotted estuary smooth-hound as "not threatened" with the qualifier "conservation dependent" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[7]
Names
In English, Mustelus lenticulatus is commonly known as the gummy shark, lemonfish, rig, spotted dogfish or spotted smooth-hound, with its full name being the spotted estuary smooth-hound. In the indigenous Māori language, the name for the species is makō.[2] It is also known as mangō,[8] pioke[9] or pīokeoke[10] in Māori, though these are generic terms, with the former being used for any shark (particularly the school shark) and the latter two being generic terms for dogfish sharks.
References
- ^ Finucci, B.; Kyne, P.M. (2018). "Mustelus lenticulatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018 e.T39356A116736541. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T39356A116736541.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Makō". Te Aka Māori Dictionary.
- ^ a b Carpenter, Kent E.; Binohlan, Crispina B. "Mustelus lenticulatus Phillipps, 1932 Spotted estuary smooth-hound". Fishbase. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ Gardner, M.G.; Ward, R.D. (2002). "Taxonomic affinities within Australian and New Zealand Mustelus sharks (Chondrichthyes: Triakidae) inferred from allozymes, mitochondrial DNA and precaudal vertebrae counts". Copeia. 2002 (2). BioOne: 356–363. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2002)002[0356:TAWAAN]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 85403536. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ Nieder, Carolin; Parmentier, Eric; Jeffs, Andrew G.; Radford, Craig (2025-03-26). "Evidence of active sound production by a shark". Royal Society Open Science. 12 (3) 242212. doi:10.1098/rsos.242212. PMC 11937917.
- ^ Ballance, Alison (5 March 2015). "Tracking Rig Sharks". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ Duffy, Clinton A. J.; Francis, Malcolm; Dunn, M. R.; Finucci, Brit; Ford, Richard; Hitchmough, Rod; Rolfe, Jeremy (2018). Conservation status of New Zealand chondrichthyans (chimaeras, sharks and rays), 2016 (PDF). Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-988514-62-8. OCLC 1042901090.
- ^ "Mangō". Te Aka Māori Dictionary.
- ^ "Pioke". Te Aka Māori Dictionary.
- ^ "Pīokeoke". Te Aka Māori Dictionary.
