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Echinorhinus brucus (Bonnaterre, 1788)

Bramble shark
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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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(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Echinorhiniformes (Bramble sharks) > Echinorhinidae (Bramble sharks)
Etymology: Echinorhinus: echinos (Gr.), spiny or sea urchin, referring to thorn-like denticles (brambles) on body; rhinus, an ancient name for sharks, from rhine (Gr.), rasp, alluding to a shark’s jagged, rasp-like skin. (See ETYFish);  brucus: Latin for caterpillar, presumably referring to “Chenille” or “Chenille de mer” (Sea Caterpillar), local names for this shark along the Atlantic Coast of France (type locality) in the 18th century. (See ETYFish).
More on author: Bonnaterre.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 10 - 900 m (Ref. 27121), usually 350 - 900 m (Ref. 45445). Deep-water; 72°N - 55°S, 98°W - 173°W (Ref. 54427)

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

Western Atlantic: Virginia, Massachusetts, USA; Venezuela, Argentina. Eastern Atlantic: North Sea to Mediterranean, Morocco to Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. 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).

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 Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 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).

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).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Ovoviviparous. 15 to 26 young in a litter (Ref. 26346). Size at birth between 29 and 90 cm. Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205). Size at maturity unknown but adult males of 150 cm and adult females of 213 cm have been reported (Ref. 6871).

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. (Ref. 247)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Endangered (EN) (A2bd); Date assessed: 21 November 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 247)





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
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References
References

Tools

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 4.1 - 13.9, mean 8.5 °C (based on 1524 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00363 (0.00139 - 0.00949), b=3.13 (2.90 - 3.36), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.4   ±0.7 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec= 15-24).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (38 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.