DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Bigtooth Cookiecutter
Isistius plutodus
- Usual depth90–2,035 m
- Water temperature17–28 °C
- Best monthsFebruary, May, and July
- How commonRare
About this species
The largetooth cookiecutter shark is a rare species of squaliform shark in the family Dalatiidae, reported from depths of 60–200 m (200–660 ft) at scattered locations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As its common name suggests, it is similar in appearance to the cookiecutter shark but has much larger lower teeth. This species reaches a maximum known length of 42 cm (17 in). The largetooth cookiecutter shark feeds by gouging out chunks of flesh from larger animals, including bony fishes, sharks, and marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, seals and killer whales and is able to take larger bites than I. brasiliensis. Little is known of its life history; it is thought to be a weaker swimmer than I. brasiliensis, and is presumably aplacental viviparous like the rest of its family. This shark is an infrequent bycatch of commercial trawl and longline fisheries, but is not thought to be much threatened by these activities.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Largetooth cookiecutter 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: 0 records
- February: 2 records
- March: 0 records
- April: 0 records
- May: 2 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 2 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 1 records
- October: 1 records
- November: 0 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 90–2,035 m · Deepest record: 2,035 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 17–28 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Bigtooth Cookiecutter, Gulf Dogfish, largetooth cookiecutter shark, Large-tooth Cookiecutter Shark, Largetooth Cookie-cutter Shark, Longtooth Cookiecutter Shark
Names in 4 more languages
- German
- Großzahn-Zigarrenhai
- Spanish
- tiburón bacha, Tollo Cigarro Dentón
- French
- Squalelet Dentu
- Japanese
- Kohire-darumazame, Kohiredarumazame, コヒレダルマザメ
Similar species
Cookie cutter sharkIsistius brasiliensis
Darkie CharlieDalatias licha
Pygmy sharkEuprotomicrus bispinatus
Spined pygmy sharkSqualiolus 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).
- 11 open-data records from 1960 to 2010.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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