Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) >
Hexanchiformes (Frill and cow sharks) >
Hexanchidae (Cow sharks)
Etymology: Heptranchias: Greek, heptra = with seven arms + Greek, agchein = throttle (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 0 - 1000 m (Ref. 41394), usually 180 - 450 m (Ref. 45445). Deep-water; 58°N - 58°S, 98°W - 173°W
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 75 - 98 cm
Max length : 137 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 247); 140.0 cm TL (female); common length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26999)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 0;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 0;
Anal
spines: 0;
Anal
soft rays: 0;
Vertebrae: 125 - 161. A narrow-headed, big-eyed small seven-gilled shark (Ref. 247). Body fusiform and slender; dorsal fin small, originating over inner margins of pelvic fins; anal fin small (Ref. 6871). Teeth wide, low and comb-shaped (Ref. 6871). Brownish grey above, paler below, sometimes with indistinct dark blotches on body; juveniles with dark-tipped dorsal and caudal fins, adults with light fin margins (Ref. 5578, 6574, 6871). Live specimens with fluorescent green eyes (Ref. 6871).
Circumglobal in tropical and temperate seas, excluding the northeast Pacific (Ref. 13573). Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to Cuba, then from Venezuela to Argentina (Ref. 6871). Eastern Atlantic: Morocco to Namibia, including the Mediterranean Sea. Indian Ocean: southwestern India, Aldabra Island, southern Mozambique, and South Africa. Western Pacific: Japan to China, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. Southeast Pacific: off northern Chile.
Found on the outer continental and insular shelves and upper slopes in depths of 100 to 400 (Ref. 13573, 11230), also inshore and down to 1,000 m (Ref. 6871, 11230). Feeds on small sharks and rays, small bony fish, shrimps, crabs, lobsters, squid, and cuttlefish (Ref. 5578). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205), with 9-12 young born per litter (Ref. 247). Very active and aggressive when captured and quick to bite but too small to be very dangerous to people (Ref. 247). Liver utilized as a source of oil. Maximum length may reach 214 cm, but this is uncertain.
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)
Threat to humans
Poisonous to eat (Ref. 4690)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
More information
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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 1.0781 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (-0.16711 - 0.17489), b=3.12000 (3.03000 - 3.21000), based on all LWR estimates for this BS (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 4.2 ±0.6 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=9).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High to very high vulnerability (73 of 100) .
