---
title: "Spotted Estuary Smooth-hound"
description: "Mustelus lenticulatus — Pesci. The spotted estuary smooth-hound or rig (Mustelus lenticulatus; Māori: makō) is a houndshark of the family Triakidae, found on the continental shelves and in estuaries around New Zealand."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/spotted-estuary-smooth-hound
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Spotted Estuary Smooth-hound

> Mustelus lenticulatus — Pesci. The spotted estuary smooth-hound or rig (Mustelus lenticulatus; Māori: makō) is a houndshark of the family Triakidae, found on the continental shelves and in estuaries around New Zealand.

- Scientific name: *Mustelus lenticulatus*
- Category: `fish` (Pesci)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mare e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 353
- Wikidata: [Q2283863](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2283863)
- iNaturalist taxon: [106260](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/106260)

## Names

- en: Spotted Estuary Smooth-hound
- de: Gefleckter Brackwasser-Glatthai
- es: Musola manchada
- fr: Émissole grivelée
- nl: Brakwatertoonhaai

## Countries with the most observations

NZ (338)

## Summary

The spotted estuary smooth-hound or rig (Mustelus lenticulatus; Māori: makō) is a houndshark of the family Triakidae, found on the continental shelves and in estuaries around New Zealand. It is closely related to the gummy shark (Mustelus antarcticus) of Australia. Males can grow up to a length of 125 cm (49 in), while females can reach a length of 151 cm (59 in). In 2025, rigs were found to be the first known shark species capable of active sound production, namely,  "clicks." 
It is commercially fished, and is commonly served in fish and chip shops in New Zealand under the name "lemonfish".  In June 2018 the New…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_estuary_smooth-hound

## Photo

![Spotted Estuary Smooth-hound](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/spotted-estuary-smooth-hound/medium.jpg)

Photo: Liam Clayton Media · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/273776234

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/spotted-estuary-smooth-hound?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).