Slender smooth-hound journal "Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand". Garrick named the species "Triakis attenuata", in reference to its extremely slender ("attenuate") body. In 1973, Leonard Compagno proposed a separate genus for the slender smooth-hound: "Gollum", after the character in J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", "to whom this shark bears some resemblance in form and habits." He placed "Gollum" with the finback catsharks (Proscylliidae), but also noted its many anatomical similarities to the false catshark ("Pseudotriakis microdon"). At the time, Compagno chose to maintain "Pseudotriakis" as the sole member of the family Pseudotriakidae because of its
Spotless smooth-hound Spotless smooth-hound The spotless smooth-hound ("Mustelus griseus") is a species of houndshark, in the family Triakidae, found on the continental shelves of the northwest Pacific, between latitudes 40° N and 11° N, from the surface to a depth of 300 m. It can grow to a length of up to . Male spotless smooth-hounds grow to a length of about with females growing to around . The head is short with a fairly long, bluntly pointed snout and the body is slender. The eyes are small and close together. The mouth is long and the lower lip groove is usually