The reproduction of this houndshark is ovoviviparous, with a litter of 14 pups being found in one female with a birth size of 30 to 40 centimetres (12 to 16 in).

It is a robust species with a rounded snout, widely separated, lobed nasal flaps, and long upper lip grooves that extend as far as the junction of the jawbones.

[2] The spotted houndshark is found on the continental shelves in the eastern Pacific, from the Galapagos Islands and Peru southwards to the north of Chile, between latitudes 0° and 30° S.[3] The spotted houndshark is caught for human consumption by gillnet, and sometimes by trawling, in artisan fisheries mainly in Peru, along with the humpback smooth-hound (Mustelus whitneyi) and the speckled smooth-hound (M. mento), collectively known (in Spanish) as "tollo" in local fisheries.

[1] Of these three fish species, the spotted houndshark is probably less common than the other two and its total numbers seem to be declining.

With the decline in the main species sought (M. whitneyi), fishing pressure has decreased and further monitoring is required to assess whether the population trend will be reversed.