Sixgill sawshark

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Sixgill sawshark
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Pristiophoriformes
Family: Pristiophoridae
Genus: Pliotrema
Species: P. warreni
Binomial name
Pliotrema warreni
Regan, 1906

The sixgill sawshark, Pliotrema warreni, the only member of the genus Pliotrema, is a sawshark of the family Pristiophoridae, found in the subtropical waters of the western Indian Ocean between latitudes 23° S and 37° S, at depths of between 60 and 430 m. Its length is up to about 1.7 m.

The sixgill sawshark is the only shark with a saw-snout and 6 pairs of gill slits. It is found on the continental shelf and upper slopes, feeding on bony fish, shrimp, mysids and squid. Reproduction is ovoviviparous, with 5 to 7 young in a litter. It probably uses its saw to stun and kill prey, and is sometimes caught by sports anglers.

Coloration is pale brown above and white below.

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