Common smooth-hound on its underneath. It is often confused with the starry smooth-hound which has white spots on its back. The starry smooth-hound can often have faded spots which leads to misidentification. Another shark it is often confused with is the tope shark although the common smooth hound has a larger second dorsal fin. Due to the similarities between the common smooth-hound and other sharks, misidentification occurred for a long time. The common smooth-hound has two dorsal fins, an anal fin, a pair of pectoral fins, a pair of pelvic fins and a heterocercal tail. All of these fins help stabilise the
Slender smooth-hound about one-sixth of the total length; the lower caudal fin lobe is indistinct, while the upper lobe has a strong ventral notch near the tip. The skin is densely covered by small, overlapping dermal denticles. The crown of each denticle is mounted on a short stalk and bears three horizontal ridges leading to marginal blade-like teeth, with the central tooth particularly long. This species is plain brownish-gray above and lighter below. It grows up to long and in weight, with females reaching a slightly larger size than males. The slender smooth-hound is likely a schooling species. It preys on a