[3] It is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to past and present threats from fisheries.

[3] An additional coloration pattern distinguishes the two species: a dark blotch on the upper lobe of the caudal fin appears in both S. montalbani and S. mitsukurii, however the placement and shape differs.

[6] Diet is described in White et al. 2006[6] "primarily of small fishes, cephalopods and crustaceans," which is repeated by the IUCN.

[1] The "Philippines spurdog" was first described in 1912 by Hugh McCormick Smith and Lewis Radcliffe,[7] however the binomial name they choose, S. philippinus, is identical to a name previously given to the Port Jackson shark (Heterodontus portusjacksoni).

[3][9] The species was identified as synonymous with S. mitsukurii in several important taxonomic lists, including the first edition of Sharks and Rays of Australia in 1994.

In 2006, a description of the Indonesian greeneye spurdog was given in Economically Important Sharks and Rays of Indonesia and given the temporary binomial name Squalus sp.

It is found in Pacific and Eastern Indian Ocean waters of SE Asia, the Philippines, and Australia.

[4] The range in Australian waters extends around the continent,[4] however is most frequently found off the coasts of New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia.

Records of the species specifically do not exist, however morphologically similar dogfish underwent a massive collapse in the 1970s off the coast of Australia.