Prickly shark

Taxobox
name = Prickly shark
status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = unknown


image_width = 250px
image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Chondrichthyes
subclassis = Elasmobranchii
ordo = Squaliformes
familia = Echinorhinidae
genus = "Echinorhinus"
species = "E. cookei"
range_

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range_map_caption = Range of the prickly shark (in blue)
binomial = "Echinorhinus cookei"
binomial_authority = (Pietschmann, 1928)The prickly shark, "Echinorhinus cookei", is a species of large bottom dwelling shark from the Pacific Ocean.

Physical characteristics

The prickly shark has no anal fin and two small spineless dorsal fins set far on the back by the tail. Its maximum length is 4 m, and it looks very similar to the bramble shark but without the thorny denticles.

Distribution

The prickly shark occurs throughout the Pacific, including Taiwan, New Zealand, Hawaii, California and Chile, among other locations.

Habits and habitat

The prickly shark lives along shelves and slopes at depths between 11 and 425 m. It is often found in submarine canyons. Other sharks and bony fish are its usual food but it will also eat octopus, squid, and even catshark eggcases. Reproduction is ovoviviparous, with up to 114 pups in a litter.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is near threatened
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* Brito, J. (2004). [http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-71782004000200014&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=es Presence of the smooth hammerhead Sphyrna zygaena (Carchariniformes: Sphyrnidae) and new records of prickly shark Echinorhinus cookei (Squaliformes: Squalidae) in San Antonio, central Chile] (abstract in English, text in Spanish). Investigaciones marinas 32 (2).
* FAO Species Catalogue Volume 4 Parts 1 and 2 Sharks of the World