Description:-

Body stout, soft and flabby with a cylindrical trunk. The snout is short and depressed and the gill openings are large, especially the fifth. Large denticles cover the ventral side of the snout. The mouth is broadly arched with short labial folds. The nostrils are widely spaced apart and have short anterior flaps. Spiracles are present posterior to the eyes. There are two equally sized, spineless dorsal fins located far back on the body, just posterior to the origin of the pelvic fin. Precaudal pits are present; the caudal fin lacks a subterminal notch. No anal fin, dorsals spineless and far back, first behind pelvic origins, large scattered thornlike denticles on body and fins. Dermal denticles on body and fins varying from small to very large, with many large, widely spaced, thorn or buckler-like denticles with bases not stellate and over a centimetre wide; some of these large denticles are fused in groups of 2 to 10. Dark gray, olive, purple, black, or brown with metallic reflections on the dorsal side. It occasionally has darker blotches. Ventrally, it is pale brown or gray to white.

Threats:-

Not recorded

Remark:-

Found in deepwater on the continental slopes of the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, at depths between 520 and 1,260 m.

Habitat:-

Marine; deep water

Synonyms:-

References:-

Akhilesh K.V., K. K. Bineesh, A. Gopalakrishnan, J. K. Jena, V. S. Basheer and N. G. K. Pillai (2014). Checklist of Chondrichthyans in Indian waters. Mar. Biol. Ass. India, 56 (1), 109-120.

Paul, L. (SSG Australia & Oceania Regional Workshop, March 2003). 2003. Echinorhinus brucus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2003: e.T41801A10563978. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2003.RLTS.T41801A10563978.en . Downloaded on 15 September 2015.
Pillai P.P. and Parakkal, B. (2000). Pelagic sharks in the Indian Seas—their exploitation, trade, management and conservation. . CMFRI Special Publication, 70, 95 pp.
Venkataraman, K., John Milton, M.C. and Raghuram, K.P. 2003. Handbook on Sharks of Indian Waters: Diversity, Fishery status, Trade and Conservation. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.
Image courtesy: Sharktrust