| Bramble shark | |
|---|---|
| From plate 3 of Oceanic Ichthyology by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean, published 1896. | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Order: | Squaliformes |
| Family: | Echinorhinidae |
| Genus: | Echinorhinus |
| Species: | E. brucus |
| Binomial name | |
| Echinorhinus brucus (Bonnaterre, 1788) |
|
| Range of the bramble shark (in blue) | |
The bramble shark, Echinorhinus brucus, is covered with large, thorn-like denticles, and hence the name "bramble" shark.
Contents |
Bramble sharks have a long cylindrical body covered with large protruding denticles, no anal fin, two small dorsal fins placed far on the back just before the tail, and five pairs of gill slits. They can reach a maximum length of 3.94 m (13 ft) and weigh 500 lbs (227 kg).[1]
The bramble shark is found in the Western Atlantic from Georgia to Maine, Argentina, the Eastern Atlantic from South Africa north to Norway, most of the Mediterranean, Mozambique, the Arabian Sea near Oman, the Indian Ocean of south India and Sri Lanka, the Pacific Ocean near Honshū, Japan, south Australia, and New Zealand. Also Found In Warm Waters Near The Equator.
The bramble shark is a deepwater shark common only in the Eastern Atlantic from Portugal north, and the North Sea. It lives on the bottom of the sea between 18 to 900 m deep, and eats small sharks, bony fish, and crabs. It is ovoviviparous with up to 24 pups per litter.