Hexanchus nakamurai
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Hexanchiformes (Cow and Frilled Sharks)
Hexanchidae (Cow Sharks)
Hexanchus
Hexanchus nakamurai (Bigeye Sixgill Shark)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. This slender-bodied shark is readily distinguished from its larger congener (H. griseus) by having a narrower head, relatively larger eyes, 5 large lower comb-shaped anterolateral teeth, a long slender dorsal-caudal space, with distance from the dorsal origin to the upper caudal origin being at least twice the length of the dorsal fin base; with the upper and lower caudal postventral margins forming a strong arch. In life, Color of dorsum a uniform pale brown without a light line extending along the lateral body trunk, the trailing fin edges are white in some specimens and the ventral surface is lighter (Ref. 94780).
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: patchily distributed in most warm-temperate and tropical seas.
Habitat Associations
Marine. bathydemersal. depth range 0-700 m.
Biology
Found on continental and island shelves and slopes, occasionally near surface or inshore from 0 to 700 m depth. Feeds on small to medium-sized bony fishes and occassionally on crustaceans. Viviparous, with 13-26 young in a litter (Ref. 125614). Size at birth measures to about 40-43 cm TL (Ref. 94780). It is taken as bycatch within its range, but is not commercially important (Ref. 125614). Utilized for its fins, meat and liver oil but of little value due to its relatively small size (Ref. 58048).
Max length: 206.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: internal (oviduct); bearers (internal live bearers). Viviparous, with number of young 13 in one litter. Length at birth about 43 cm (Ref. 125614). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).
IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened (NT), assessed 2019-11-21. Resilience: Very low (Fec = 13).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries.
References
Cortés, E. (1999) Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 56:707-717.
Ebert, D.A., W.T. White and H.-H. Ho (2013) Redescription of Hexanchus nakamurai Teng 1962, (Chondrichthyes: Hexanchiformes: Hexanchidae), with designation of a neotype. Zootaxa 3752(1):020-034.
Ebert, D.A., S. Fowler and M. Dando (2021) Sharks of the World: A complete guide. Princeton University Press, 607 p. DOI: 10.1515/9780691210872
Kurniawan, F., G.B. Satrya and F. Kamalov (2024) Lightweight fish classification model for sustainable marine management: Indonesian case. arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.02278.
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