Echinorhinus brucus  (Bonnaterre, 1788)

Bramble shark
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Echinorhinus brucus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Echinorhinus brucus (Bramble shark)
Echinorhinus brucus
Picture by Khan, M.M.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Squaliformes (Bramble, sleeper and dogfish sharks) > Echinorhinidae (Bramble sharks)
Etymology: Echinorhinus: Greek, echinos = sea urchin, hedgehog + Greek, rhinos = nose (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 10 - 900 m (Ref. 27121), usually 350 - 900 m (Ref. 45445).   Deep-water; 72°N - 55°S, 92°W - 173°W (Ref. 54427)

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 200 - ? cm
Max length : 310 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 247); common length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26999)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. The bramble shark Echinorhinus brucus has thorn-like denticles on body which are very large (single denticles up to about 15mm in basal diameter in adults), sparse irregularly distributed and thorn-like with smooth basal margins, some bases fused into compound plates. Dorsal surface dark purplish-grey to brown with white denticles, ventral surface paler; sides and back may have dark spots. Tooth count 20-26/21-26.As with the other member of the family Echinorhinidae, it has a relatively short snout and stout body; two small spineless dorsal fins, close together, towards posterior part of body and originating behind pelvic fin origin. No anal fin and subterminal notch on caudal fin. Small spiracles, very short labial furrows and teeth on both jaws alike, with a central oblique bladelike cusps with up to 3 cusplets on each side (absent in juveniles) (Ref. 247, 6871, 5578).

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: Virginia, Massachusetts, USA; Argentina. Eastern Atlantic: North Sea to Mediterranean, Morocco to Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. Western Indian Ocean: India, Mozambique, South Africa. Western Pacific: Japan, southern Australia, New Zealand. Records from Oman and Kiribati uncertain. Apparently absent in the Eastern Pacific (Ref. 6578).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A rare (Ref. 26346), large, sluggish, deepwater shark found on continental and insular shelves and upper slopes (Ref. 247). Sometimes found in shallow water (Ref. 247). Feeds on smaller sharks, bony fishes, and crabs (Ref. 247). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205), with 15-26 young in a litter (26346). Never recorded as attacking people. Sometimes hooked by shore anglers (Ref. 5578). Processed into fishmeal. May be used in traditional medicine in southern Africa (Ref. 5578).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/1):1-249. Rome: FAO.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Data deficient (DD) 

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 247)




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO(fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (-0.16711 - 0.17489), b=3.12 (3.03 - 3.21), based on all LWR estimates for this BS (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  4.4   ±0.7 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec= 15-24).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (85 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.