Six Gilled Shark Facts
The bluntnose sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus), often simply called the cow shark, is the largest hexanchoid shark, growing to 18 ft (5.5 m) in length. [2] It is found in tropical and temperate waters worldwide and its diet is widely varied by region. The bluntnose sixgill shark is commonly known as the cow shark, and is a species of large deep-water shark.
Its the largest primitive hexanchoid shark growing up to 5.5 m (18 ft) in length, and is found in tropical and temperate waters around the world. Sixgill or bluntnose sixgill sharks, Hexanchus griseus (Bonnaterre, 1788), have a number of common names. They are heavy-bodied, broad-headed sharks with broad, rounded snouts and ventral mouths containing 6 rows of blade-like (saw-like), comb-shaped teeth.
The sixgill, also known as a cow shark, is a large deep water shark with six gills instead of the normal five. It has many adaptations to help it survive the dark ocean habitat. Average length is 15 to 16 feet long, and it is gray to olive to brown in color.
It feeds nocturnally and ambushes its prey, but because it lives at depths, little is known about it and it is not considered a threat to humans unless it is provoked. Over 35 amazing fun facts about Sixgill Sharks including 10 fun facts about Sixgill Sharks especially for kids, plus learn more about where they live, what they eat, what they do, and so much more! Unlike its more evolved relatives, which display five gills, this sharks set of six is a relic of the Jurassic when its ancestors first evolved.
It also has only a single dorsal fin. The Bluntnose Sixgill Shark, also called the Hexanchus griseus, is an extremely interesting shark. Come learn about this and other awesome sharks here!
Brown to dark gray above; off-white below. Its fins have thin white trailing edges. Maximum total length is 15.8 ft [4.82 m].
Females mature at 14.7 to 15.7 ft [4.5 to 4.8 m]. Fang-like teeth in upper jaw, broad saw-like teeth in lower jaw. Marine or benthic and pelagic.
Unlike most sharks that have five gill slits, the sixgill shark, as its name suggests, possesses six gill slits on each side of its head. This is one of its most distinctive features and a key characteristic of the Hexanchiformes order.
