Triakidae, Gray, 1851

Biscoito, Manuel, Ribeiro, Cláudia & Freitas, Mafalda, 2018, Annotated checklist of the fishes of the archipelago of Madeira (NE Atlantic): I-Chondrichthyes, Zootaxa 4429 (3), pp. 459-494 : 487

Family Triakidae

Mustelus canis (Mitchill, 1815) —No common name in Madeira; Dusky smooth-hound

Fowler 1936: 61 | Noronha & Sarmento 1948: 97 | Maul 1948: 138 | Albuquerque 1954 –56: 106 and 107 | Nunes 1953: 82

Distribution in Macaronesia. recorded only from Madeira.

Remarks. Fowler’s (1936) reference to Madeira is based on Lowe (1838: 194) and Günther (1870: 385) who recorded Mustelus laevis , now considered as a synonym of M. mustelus (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Compagno 1973; Eschmeyer et al. 2017). No specimens or other material from Madeira were found in natural history museum collections. According to Compagno (1984b), M. canis is restricted to the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, therefore this species should be excluded from the list of Chondrichthyans of Madeira.

Mustelus punctulatus Risso, 1827 —No common name in Madeira; Black-spotted smooth-hound

Branstetter 1984b: 121 | Wirtz et al. 2008: 3

Distribution in Macaronesia. recorded only from Madeira.

Remarks. The origin of this record seems to be the map given by Branstetter (1984b). Wirtz et al. (2008) considered this a very doubtful record from Madeira. In the eastern Atlantic, this Mediterranean species seems to occur only in continental coasts, from Gibraltar to the Western Sahara ( Compagno 1984b). Since no specimens or other material from Madeira were found in natural history museum collections, at this point, this species should be excluded from the list of chondrichthyans of Madeira.