Sharpnose sevengill shark
Heptranchias perlo
Valid name per FishBase; not independently confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes.
- English
- Sharpnose sevengill shark
- Scientific
- Heptranchias perlo
- Dhivehi
- ތުންދިގު މަޑު މިޔަރުThundhigu madu miyaru
- Group
- Sharks
- Family
- Hexanchidae (cow sharks)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 1.4 m (total length); commonly 1 m (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 1.4 m
- Depth and habitat
- Deep-water, on or near the bottom, recorded from 0 to 1000 m (usually 180 to 450 m)
- IUCN status
- NT · Near ThreatenedNear Threatened (NT), assessed 2019
Description
A slender, big-eyed shark with seven gill slits on each side and a narrow head, brownish grey above and paler below; young have dark-tipped dorsal and tail fins. It lives near the bottom on deep slopes, usually at 180 to 450 m, and feeds on fish, squid and crustaceans.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name thundhigu madu miyaru (MRS 1997). Not on the FishBase Maldives checklist; MRS records a specimen caught by bottom trawl at 240 m near Thoddoo by the research vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen in 1983. Sharks are fully protected in the Maldives (since 2010).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Heptranchias-perlo.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ތުންދިގު_މަޑު_މިޔަރު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Heptranchias_perlo.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Thundhigu madu miyaru' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ތުންދިގު މަޑު މިޔަރު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. FLAG: the source states no traditional name was recorded and this descriptive name was coined for the book; it is not an established fishermen's name.