Animal Species:Sharpnose Sevengill Shark, Heptranchias perlo (Bonnaterre, 1788)
The Sharpnose Sevengill Shark has a slender body with a long caudal peduncle. It occurs in tropical and temperate waters, usually at depths between 100 m to 400 m.
Standard Common Name
Sharpnose Sevengill Shark
The Sharpnose Sevengill Shark has a slender body with a long caudal peduncle (glossary). It has a pointed head with large eyes. There are seven pairs of long gill slits and a single dorsal fin. The teeth in the upper jaw have a narrow oblique cusp (glossary) and small lateral cusplets. The lower jaw teeth are shaped like a cockscomb.
The species is brownish to grey above and paler below. The tips of the dorsal and anal fins are dark in juveniles becoming whitish in adults. The eyes are green in life.
In Australia it is known from northern Queensland, down the east coast, around the south of the country, including Tasmania and north to off north-western Western Australia.
The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
Distribution by collection data
It occurs in tropical and temperate continental and insular shelves and upper slope waters usually at depths between 100 m to 400 m. It has however been caught as deep as 1000 m.
- Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513, Pl. 1-84.
Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Tags fishes, ichthyology, Sharpnose Sevengill Shark, Heptranchias perlo, Hexanchidae, adult, marine, long and skinny, seven pairs of gill slits, single dorsal fin, narrow cusped teeth, cockscomb, brown, grey, green eyes, > 1m,