Bluntnose sixgill shark
Hexanchus griseus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Bluntnose sixgill shark
- Scientific
- Hexanchus griseus
- Dhivehi
- މަޑު މިޔަރުMadumiyaru
- Group
- Sharks
- Family
- Hexanchidae (cow sharks)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 6 m (total length); commonly 3 m; max. published weight 590 kg (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 4.8 m
- Depth and habitat
- Deep-water, on or near the bottom, recorded from 0 to 2500 m (usually 180 to 1100 m)
- IUCN status
- NT · Near ThreatenedNear Threatened (NT), assessed 2019
Description
A large, heavy-bodied, primitive shark with six long gill slits on each side, a single dorsal fin set far back, comb-like lower teeth and fluorescent green eyes. It lives in deep water, usually below 180 m, rising towards the surface at night, and can reach about 6 m.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name madu miyaru (MRS 1997). MRS records that its liver oil was once prized for treating wooden dhonis, and it was the target of a special fishery. Sharks are fully protected in the Maldives (since 2010).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Hexanchus-griseus.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/މަޑު_މިޔަރު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Hexanchus_griseus.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Madumiyaru' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'މަޑު މިޔަރު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.