Broadnose sevengill shark

Broadnose sevengill shark
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Order:	Hexanchiformes
Family:	Hexanchidae
Genus:	Notorynchus Ayres, 1855
Species:	N. cepedianus
Binomial name
Notorynchus cepedianus (Péron, 1807)
Range of the broadnose sevengill shark
Synonyms
Heptranchias haswelli* Ogilby, 1897 Heptranchias pectorosus Garman, 1884 Heptranchias spilotus Lahille, 1913 Notidanus ferox Perez Canto, 1886 Notidanus indicus Agassiz, 1838 Notidanus medinae Philippi, 1902 Notidanus wolniczkyi Philippi, 1902 Notorynchus macdonaldi Whitley, 1931 Notorynchus maculatus Ayres, 1855 Notorhynchus borealis Gill, 1864 Notorhynchus ocellatus Devincenzi, 1920 Squalus cepedianus Péron, 1807 Squalus platycephalus Tenore, 1809 * ambiguous synonym

The broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus) is the only extant member of the genus Notorynchus, in the family Hexanchidae. It is recognizable because of its seven gill slits, while most shark species have five gill slits, with the exception of the members of the order Hexanchiformes and the sixgill sawshark.

The shark is gray or brownish with spots. It has one dorsal fin set far back along the spine towards the tail. Its top jaw has jagged cusped teeth and the bottom comb shaped. This adaptation allows the shark to eat sharks, rays, fish, seals, and carrion. The sharks live in temperate areas worldwide, from the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, and from the shallows down to 135 m (450 ft) deep. Five unprovoked attacks on humans have been recorded since the 16th century^[1]. This shark is ovoviviparous, bearing live young. It grows up to 300 cm (10 feet) long.

References

• Compagno (2000). Notorynchus cepedianus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as data deficient
• "Notorynchus cepedianus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=159829. Retrieved 23 January 2006. 
• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2005). "Notorynchus cepedianus" in FishBase. 10 2005 version.

1. ^ http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/sevengill/sevengill.html accessed 13 July 2010