About Mustelus antarcticus Günther, 1870
The gummy shark, with the scientific name Mustelus antarcticus Günther, 1870, is also commonly called the Australian smooth hound, flake, sweet william, or smooth dog-shark. It is a species of ground shark belonging to the genus Mustelus in the family Triakidae. These are small to medium-sized bottom-dwelling sharks. They are found mostly, but not exclusively, in the seas around southern Australia. They are commonly caught via baited fishing for use as food, due to their taste and favorable market prices. A 2021 paper by White, Arunrugstichai & Naylor found that Mustelus walkeri (the eastern spotted gummy shark) is the same species as M. antarcticus, and one existing theory holds that M. walkeri is a subpopulation of M. antarcticus.
Gummy sharks feed on crustaceans, marine worms, small fish, and cephalopods including octopus, squid, and cuttlefish. They use plate-like teeth to crush the shells and bodies of their prey to make consumption easier. They stay on or near the seabed, and their travel patterns differ by age: juvenile gummy sharks travel shorter distances than fully grown individuals, and females tend to travel across longer ranges than males. Gummy sharks live primarily in sandy habitats, and move closer to shore at night to hunt for prey.
This species is primarily found along the southern coast of Australia around Bunbury, including (but not limited to) Tasmania and the Bass Strait. It also occurs in coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean such as Japan, and in coastal areas of the Indian Ocean.
