Broadnose Sevengill Shark (Notorynchus cepedianus). Illustration: R. Aidan Martin
Cow sharks are little known because they spend most of their lives in deep, cold oceans beyond the reach of divers.However, there are times during the year when some species spend time in shallow waters to feed and give birth. Cow sharks are unusual in that they have six, and in some species, seven pairs of gills. They have wide heads, small eyes, and heavily-built body.
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Cow Shark Characteristics, Order Hexanchiformes
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Rounded, stout body. Species range from 4.5 to 15.5 feet.
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1, far to the back of the shark
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Ovoviviparous (eggs develop in the mother’s body and are born alive). Relatively large litters of up to 80 pups born in shallow bays.
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Extra gills, comb-shaped bottom teeth
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Deep, often cold marine exclusively marine, in northern, temperate, and tropical zones of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans
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Cow sharks are aggressive predators and eat other sharks, rays, bony fish, seals, and scavenged prey
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Cow Shark Species - Family Hexanchidae - 4 Species
Red indicates inclusion on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.
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Order Hexanchiformes - Cow Sharks
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Family Hexanchidae - Cow Sharks
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Species
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Common name
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Genus Heptranchias
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Heptranchias perlo
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Sharpnose Sevengill Shark
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Genus Hexanchus
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Hexanchus griseus
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Bluntnose Sixgill Shark
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Hexanchus nakamurai
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Bigeye Sixgill Shark
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Genus Notorynchus
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Notorynchus cepedianus
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Broadnose Sevengill Shark
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