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Enchanted Learning All About Sharks!

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ALL ABOUT SHARKS!

Broadnose Sevengill Shark Notorynchus cepedianus

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Broadnose Sevengill shark is a is a primitive and rare shark that has seven gills on each side of the face (most sharks have five). This unusual shark also has a single (and small) dorsal fin towards the rear of the body. This aggressive shark has small eyes and a wide head.

The broadnose sevengill is speckled (with both dark and light small spots) and silvery. Young broadnose sevengills have white edge marking on the rear fins.

TEETH
The Bluntnose Sixgill shark has five rows of jagged, saw-like teeth in the upper jaw (except for one middle tooth). The teeth of the lower are jaw comb-shaped.

SIZE
The broadnose sevengill grows to be up to roughly 10 ft (3 m) long.

DIET AND FEEDING HABITS
These aggressive sharks eat fish (including other sharks, rays, and bony fish), seals, and scavenged prey (including fish caught in gill nets and human corpses).

BLUNTNOSE SIXGILL SHARK ATTACKS
The Broadnose Sevengill shark can be dangerous, but is rarely seen. No attacks on divers in the wild been reported.

HABITAT
The Broadnose Sevengill shark lives in temperate waters down to about 450 ft (135 m).

DISTRIBUTION
The Bluntnose Sixgill shark is found in the south Atlantic, South Pacific, and Indian Oceans. They are widespread geographically but are few in numbers.

REPRODUCTION
Females reach sexual maturity when they are roughly 7 ft (2.2 m) long (males at 5 ft = 1.5 m long). These sharks bear live young in shallow bays. Females have litters of up to 80 live-born pups. The pups are about 16-18 inches (40-45 cm) long.

BROADNOSE SEVENGILL SHARK CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom Animalia (animals) Phylum Chordata SubPhylum Vertebrata (vertebrates) Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) Subclass Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) Order Hexanchiformes Family Hexanchidae Genus Notorynchus Species cepedianus

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