Hexanchus

Hexanchus
Temporal range: Sinemurian to present[1]
Bluntnose sixgill shark
(Hexanchus griseus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Subdivision: Selachimorpha
Order: Hexanchiformes
Family: Hexanchidae
Genus: Hexanchus
Rafinesque, 1810
Type species
Hexanchus griseus[2]
Species

See text

The sixgill sharks are a genus, Hexanchus, of deepwater sharks in the family Hexanchidae. These sharks are characterized by a broad, pointed head, six pairs of gill slits, comb-like, yellow lower teeth, and a long tail. The largest species can grow up to 8 m long and weigh over 600 kg (1320 lb).[3] They are continental shelf-dwelling and abyssal plain scavengers with a keen sense of smell and are among the first to arrive at carrion, together with hagfish and rattails. They show a characteristic rolling motion of the head when feeding.

They have been found at depths of up to 2,500 m (8,200 ft).[citation needed] Though only two extant species (the bluntnose sixgill shark and the bigeyed sixgill shark) were originally known, a third, the Atlantic sixgill shark, was found to exist.[4][5]

  1. ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera (Chondrichthyes entry)". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  2. ^ "Hexanchus griseus". 9 May 2017.
  3. ^ Kindersley, Dorling (2001). Animal. New York City: DK Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7894-7764-4.[page needed]
  4. ^ "New shark species confirmed: Genetic testing finds a different sixgill shark". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  5. ^ "New species of shark discovered through genetic testing". phys.org. Retrieved 7 February 2019.

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search