Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Classis: Chondrichthyes
Subclassis: Elasmobranchii
Infraclassis: Euselachii
Division/Cohort: Neoselachii
Subdivision/Subcohort: Selachimorpha
Superordo: Squalomorphii
Ordo: Hexanchiformes
Familia: Hexanchidae
Genus: Hexanchus
Species: H. griseus – H. nakamurai – †H. arzoensis – †H. agassizi – †H. collinsonae – †H. gracilis – †H. gigas – †H. hookeri – †H. microdon – †H. vitulus
Name
Hexanchus Rafinesque, 1810
References
Links
Zicha, Ondřej et al. Hexanchus Rafinesque, 1810 – Taxon details on Biological Library (BioLib).
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2019. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Hexanchus.
Hexanchus – Taxon details on World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).
Vernacular names
English: sixgill sharks
The sixgill sharks are a genus, Hexanchus, of deepwater sharks in the family Hexanchidae. These sharks are characterized by a broad, pointed head, six pairs of gill slits, comb-like, yellow lower teeth, and a long tail. The largest species can grow up to 8 m long and weigh over 600 kg (1320 lb).[3] They are continental shelf-dwelling and abyssal plain scavengers with a keen sense of smell and are among the first to arrive at carrion, together with hagfish and rattails. They show a characteristic rolling motion of the head when feeding.
They have been found at depths of up to 2,500 m (8,200 ft).[citation needed] Though only two extant species (the bluntnose sixgill shark and the bigeyed sixgill shark) were originally known, a third, the Atlantic sixgill shark, was found to exist.[4][5]
Swimming behavior
The bluntnose sixgill shark, Hexanchus griseus, is relatively common to scientists. However, very little information exists about its distribution patterns, migrations and behavior. Data on occurrence and behavior of sixgill sharks inhabiting waters north of Spain (Galicia and Cantabrian Sea, NE Atlantic) were obtained from yearly oceanographic trawl surveys. Data obtained from one electronic pop-up tag (Mini PAT), provided information about depth and temperature preferences over 75 days. Mean depth obtained during that period was 913 m (depth range 727–1247 m), and the mean temperature was 10.3 °C, (range 8.0–10.8 °C). Movements up and down in the water column within a single day ranged from 50 to 385 m. No cyclic diel vertical migration was however observed, the shark having moved smoothly without a defined pattern.[6]
The six-gill sharks have the ability to alter their feeding behaviors due to the situation that they are in. A feeding behavior analysis displayed that the six-gill sharks are able to utilize a bite of food compared to other aquatic vertebrates.[clarification needed][7]
Extant species
Hexanchus griseus {Bonnaterre, 1788) (bluntnose sixgill shark)
Hexanchus nakamurai Teng, 1962 (bigeyed sixgill shark)
Hexanchus vitulus Springer & Waller, 1969 (Atlantic sixgill shark)[4][5]
Extinct species
Fossil teeth of Hexanchus andersoni
Hexanchus agassizi Cappetta, 1976
Hexanchus andersoni Jordan, 1907
Hexanchus casieri Kozlov, 1999
Hexanchus collinsonae Ward, 1979
Hexanchus gracilis Davis, 1887
Hexanchus hookeri Ward, 1979
Hexanchus microdon Agassiz, 1843
Hexanchus tusbairicus Kozlov in Zhelezko & Kozlov, 1999
Records earlier than Albian such as Jurassic species H. arzoensis and H. wiedenrothi are later considered as misidentification, the first moved to Notidanoides and later moved to Crassodontidanus.[8][9]
See also
iconSharks portal
Shark teeth
List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera
References
Siversson, Mikael; Machalski, Marcin (2017-10-02). "Late late Albian (Early Cretaceous) shark teeth from Annopol, Poland". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 41 (4): 433–463. doi:10.1080/03115518.2017.1282981. ISSN 0311-5518.
"Hexanchus griseus". 9 May 2017.
Kindersley, Dorling (2001). Animal. New York City: DK Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7894-7764-4.[page needed]
"New shark species confirmed: Genetic testing finds a different sixgill shark". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
"New species of shark discovered through genetic testing". phys.org. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
Rodríguez-Cabello, Cristina; González-Pola, César; Rodríguez, Augusto; Sánchez, Francisco (September 2018). "Insights about depth distribution, occurrence and swimming behavior of Hexanchus griseus in the Cantabrian Sea (NE Atlantic)". Regional Studies in Marine Science. 23: 60–72. doi:10.1016/j.rsma.2017.10.015. S2CID 134282217.
McNeil, B.; Lowry, D.; Larson, S.; Griffing, D. (2016). "[no title cited]". PLOS ONE. 11 (5): e0156730. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0156730. PMC 4887027. PMID 27243237. S2CID 2448005.[full citation needed]
Cione, Alberto Luis; Medina, Francisco (2009). "The oldest hexanchiform shark from the Southern Hemisphere (Neoselachii; Early Cretaceous, Antarctica)". Antarctic Science. 21 (5): 501–504. doi:10.1017/s0954102009990228. ISSN 0954-1020.
Szabó, Márton (2020-03-01). "A Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian–early Tithonian) fish fauna of the Eperkés-hegy (Olaszfalu, Bakony Mts., Hungary): the oldest record of Notidanodon Cappetta, 1975 and a short revision of Mesozoic Hexanchidae". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 100 (1): 151–170. doi:10.1007/s12549-018-00368-x. ISSN 1867-1608.
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