prickley dogfish

Oxynotus bruniensis

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Near threatened

Usual depth334–647 m
Water temperature8–23 °C
Best monthsMay, July, and October
How commonOccasional

About this species

The prickly dogfish is a poorly known species of dogfish shark in the family Oxynotidae, inhabiting temperate Australian and New Zealand waters. Reaching a length of 75 cm (30 in), this brown to gray shark has a very thick body with a prominent "humpback" and extremely rough skin. It is further characterized by two enormous, sail-like dorsal fins placed relatively close together. Both dorsal fins have a spine embedded mostly within the fleshy leading portion of the fin; the first dorsal spine is tilted forward.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 4 records
February: 2 records
March: 9 records
April: 8 records
May: 16 records
June: 12 records
July: 24 records
August: 4 records
September: 10 records
October: 24 records
November: 7 records
December: 15 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 334–647 m · Deepest record: 1,081 m

60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 3 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110–120 m: 1 records
120–130 m: 1 records
130–140 m: 2 records
140–150 m: 2 records
150–160 m: 2 records
160–170 m: 1 records
170+ m: 827 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–23 °C

6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 47 records
10–12 °C: 93 records
12–14 °C: 392 records
14–16 °C: 100 records
16–18 °C: 41 records
18–20 °C: 43 records
20–22 °C: 51 records
22–24 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: prickley dogfish, Prickly Dogfish, Rough Shark

Names in 3 more languages

German: Stachelige Meersau
Spanish: Cerdo marino espinoso
Japanese: ミナミオロシザメ

Other scientific names: Centrina bruniensis

Similar species

Japanese Roughshark
Oxynotus japonicus

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).
936 open-data records from 1893 to 2018.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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