DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Bigeye sixgill shark
Hexanchus nakamurai
- Usual depth131–518 m
- Water temperature13–29 °C
- Best monthsJune, August, and October
- How commonRare
About this species
The bigeyed sixgill shark is a cow shark of the family Hexanchidae. Its dorsal surface has a brownish-gray color, and is sharply separated from the light coloring of its ventral surface. The eyes are a fluorescent green while the shark is alive. The body of this shark is small, slim, and fusiform in shape. As the name suggests, this shark has six gill slits, unusual among most shark species. The head is narrow and somewhat flattened, and the mouth contains 5 rows of large, comb-shaped teeth. This shark's single dorsal fin is pushed back towards the caudal fin, and is behind the pelvic fins. The upper caudal fin is much longer than the lower, with a deep notch near the tip. All fins have thin white margins on the edge. In juveniles, the upper caudal fin has a black tip.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Bigeyed sixgill 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: 5 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 0 records
- April: 1 records
- May: 1 records
- June: 8 records
- July: 4 records
- August: 6 records
- September: 3 records
- October: 6 records
- November: 3 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 131–518 m · Deepest record: 625 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 13–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Bigeye sixgill shark, Bigeyed sixgill shark, bigeyed sixgill shark, bigeye sixgill shark
Names in 6 more languages
- German
- Grossaugen-Sechskiemerhai, Großaugen-Sechskiemerhai
- Spanish
- Cañabota Ojigrande, cazón de seis branquias
- French
- Griset, Requin vache, Requin-vache
- Japanese
- Shirokagura, シロカグラ
- Thai
- ปลาฉลามเหงือกหกช่องตาโต
- Simplified Chinese
- 中村氏六鰓鯊, 大眼六鰓鮫, 長吻六鰓鯊
Similar species
- Sharpnose sevengill shark
Heptranchias perlo
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).
- 79 open-data records from 1968 to 2010.
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