Muñoz-Chapuli & Ramo (1989) reviewed the systematics ofCentrophorus from the eastern North Atlantic and recognized four different species:C. squamosus,C. granulosus,C. lusitanicus andC. niaukang. However, recent studies indicated thatC. niaukang may be restricted to the western Indo- Pacific (Ebert & Stehmann 2013). The taxonomic arrangement ofCentrophorus species is provisional, and a comprehensive systematic review ofCentrophorus, including detailed descriptions of external morphological, anatomical and molecular characters (Muñoz–Chapuli & Ramo 1989), are necessary both to elucidate the variation and interrelationships ofCentrophorus species and to rectify several outstanding problems within the genus.According to Ebert & Stehmann (2013), the speciesCentrophorus uyato Rafinesque, 1810, is not actually aCentrophorus species, but rather aSqualus of uncertain identity.