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Heptranchias perlo (Bonnaterre, 1788)

Sharpnose sevengill shark
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Heptranchias perlo   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Heptranchias perlo (Sharpnose sevengill shark)
Heptranchias perlo
Picture by Vaske Jr., T.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Hexanchiformes (Frill and cow sharks) > Hexanchidae (Cow sharks)
Etymology: Heptranchias: hept[a] (Gr.), seven; ranchias, etymology unclear, possibly a variant spelling of anchos (Gr.), gill, possibly with the addition of -ias, borrowed from karkharías, ancient Greek for shark (cf. Carcharias Rafinesque 1810), referring to how the seven gill openings extend down onto the throat. (See ETYFish);  perlo: From the French vernacular “Le Perlon,” pearl, probably referring to its smooth and grayish (“lisse & grisâtre”) skin. (See ETYFish).
More on author: Bonnaterre.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution 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

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

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 (Ref. 247). Indian Ocean: southwestern India, Aldabra Island, southern Mozambique, and South Africa (Ref. 247). Western Pacific: Japan to China, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. Southeast Pacific: off northern Chile (Ref. 247).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 87.7, 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)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

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

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

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.

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

Ovoviviparous, number of young 9 to 20 in a litter (Ref. 247). Size at birth about 25 cm (Ref. 6871). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205). No apparent seasonality in its reproduction cycle (Ref.58048).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | 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)

  Near Threatened (NT) (A2bd); Date assessed: 21 November 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Poisonous to eat (Ref. 4690)





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Fisheries: 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: 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): 8.5 - 18.7, mean 12.5 °C (based on 1162 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0781   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00224 (0.00162 - 0.00309), b=3.10 (3.01 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.2   ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=9).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (84 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 6.22 [1.20, 32.26] mg/100g; Iron = 0.307 [0.073, 1.001] mg/100g; Protein = 18 [16, 20] %; Omega3 = 0.237 [0.104, 0.562] g/100g; Selenium = 17.2 [5.4, 50.5] μg/100g; VitaminA = 10.3 [2.3, 49.1] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.275 [0.132, 0.524] mg/100g (wet weight);