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
Starry smooth-hound least and prefers places where the seabed is sand or gravel. The starry smooth-hound mostly feeds on crustaceans, such as crabs, lobsters, and slipper lobsters, and molluscs. It matures at a length of about . It is an ovoviviparous fish, retaining its eggs in its oviduct where the young are nourished by the egg yolk and the oviduct's secretions. Seven to 15 young are in a litter, and they are about long at birth. The IUCN, in its Red List of Threatened Species lists the starry smooth-hound as "Least Concern". The justification for this is that it has a wide