Pygmy shark

Euprotomicrus bispinatus

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth0–914 m
Water temperature8–29 °C
Best monthsMay, August, and December
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The pygmy shark, the second-smallest of all the shark species after the dwarf lanternshark, is a squaliform shark of the family Dalatiidae, the only member of the genus Euprotomicrus. Their lengths are up to about 25 cm (10 in) for females and about 22 cm (8.7 in) for males.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Pygmy shark”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 6 records
February: 6 records
March: 2 records
April: 2 records
May: 11 records
June: 3 records
July: 3 records
August: 7 records
September: 2 records
October: 0 records
November: 5 records
December: 9 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–914 m · Deepest record: 913.5 m

0–10 m: 2 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 4 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–29 °C

6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 0 records
10–12 °C: 0 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 2 records
16–18 °C: 4 records
18–20 °C: 11 records
20–22 °C: 9 records
22–24 °C: 7 records
24–26 °C: 13 records
26–28 °C: 18 records
28–30 °C: 2 records

Names and classification

English: Pygmy shark, pygmy shark

Names in 4 more languages

German: Pygmäenhai
Spanish: tiburón pigmeo, Tollo Pigmeo
French: squale pygmée, Squale pygmée
Japanese: オキコビトザメ, ツマリコビトザメ

Other scientific names: Euprotomicrus hyalinus, Euprotomicrus labordii, Lemurgus labordii, Limnurgus labordii, Scymnus bispinatus, Scymnus labordii, Scymnus mauritianus

Similar species

Darkie Charlie
Dalatias licha
Spined pygmy shark
Squaliolus laticaudus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
68 open-data records from 1824 to 2002.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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