Heptranchias perlo

Scientific name:

Heptranchias perlo

Threat level:

Near threatened

Authority:

Bonnaterre, 1788

Common names:

• Sharpsnouted sevengill (English)
• Sharpnose sevengill shark (English)
• Sevengill cow shark (English)
• Perlon shark (English)
• One-finned shark (English)
• Sharpnose sevengill shark (English)

Version:

3.1

Year assessed:

2003

Assessor(s):

Paul, L. & Fowler, S. (SSG Australia & Oceania Regional Workshop, March 2003)

Evaluator(s):

Shark Specialist Group Australia & Oceania Regional Group (Shark Red List Authority)

Justification:

A wide ranging, but relatively uncommon species where it occurs. Its centers of abundance may be at outer shelf, slope, and oceanic seamounts where commercial fisheries for other target species are likely to develop. It is likely to have a low intrinsic rate of increase, and poor resilience to depletion. This species is of minor commercial importance, but bycatch in bottom trawl and longline fisheries may have caused population declines where deepwater fisheries have been underway for several decades. Increased deepwater fishing effort in many regions is likely to affect populations in the future. The species is assessed as Near Threatened due to concern that it may meet the Vulnerable A2d+A3d+4d criteria.

Geographic ranges:

• Algeria (Native)
• Angola (Native)
• Argentina (Native)
• Australia (Native)
• Benin (Native)
• Brazil (Native)
• Cameroon (Native)
• Chile (Native)
• China (Native)
• Congo (Native)
• Côte D'ivoire (Native)
• Egypt (Native)
• Equatorial Guinea (Native)
• France (Native)
• Gabon (Native)
• Gambia (Native)
• Ghana (Native)
• Greece (Native)
• Guinea (Native)
• Guinea-bissau (Native)
• India (Native)
• Indonesia (Native)
• Italy (Native)
• Japan (Native)
• Liberia (Native)
• Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Native)
• Mauritania (Native)
• Mexico (Native)
• Morocco (Native)
• Mozambique (Native)
• New Zealand (Native)
• Nigeria (Native)
• Senegal (Native)
• Seychelles (Native)
• Sierra Leone (Native)
• South Africa (Native)
• Spain (Native)
• Togo (Native)
• Tunisia (Native)
• Turkey (Native)
• United States (Native)
• Western Sahara (Native)

Population trend:

Unknown

Ecosystems

• Marine

List of habitats:

• Marine Oceanic
• Epipelagic (0-200m)

• Bass, A.J., A’ubrey, J.D. and Kistnasamy, N. 1975. Sharks of the east coast of southern Africa. V. The families Hexanchidae, Chlamydoselachidae, Heterodontidae, Pristiophoridae and Squatinidae. South African Association for Marine Biological Research, Oceanographic Research Institute Investigational Report No. 43.
• Capapé, C. 1980. New description of Heptranchias perlo (Bonnaterre 1788) (Pisces, Pleurotremata, Hexanchidae). Biological reproduction data and diets of some samples of the Tunisia Coasts. Bull. Off. Natl. Peches (Tunisia) 4(2): 231–264.
• Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. No. 125, vol. 4.
• Garrick, J.A.F. and Paul, L.J. 1971. Heptranchias dakini Whitley, 1931, a synonym of H. perlo (Bonnaterre, 1788), the sharpnosed sevengill or perlon shark, with notes on sexual dimorphism in this species. Zoology Publications from Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand) 54: 1–14.
• Halstead, B.W., Auerbach, P.S. and Campbell, D.R. 1990. A colour atlas of dangerous marine animals. Wolfe Medical Publications Ltd, W.S. Cowell Ltd, Ipswich, England.
• IUCN. 2003. 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 18 November 2003.
• Last, P.R. and Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO, Australia.
• Shark Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website.
• Sierra, L.M., Claro, R. and Popova, O.A. 1994. Alimentacion y relaciones tróficas. In: R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los Peces Marinos de Cuba. pp. 263-284. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo, Mexico.
• Stewart, A.L. 2002. At sixes and sevens with four cowsharks. Seafood New Zealand 10(7): 65–68.
• Tanaka, S. and Mizue, K. 1977. Studies on sharks. 11. Reproduction in female Heptranchias perlo. Bulletin of the Faculty of Fisheries Nagasaki University No. 42: 1–9.
• Uiblein, F., Geldmacher, A., Koester, F., Nellen, W. and Kraus, G. 1999. Species composition and depth distribution of fish species collected in the area of the Great Meteor Seamount, eastern central Atlantic, during cruise M42/3 with seventeen new records. Informes Tecnicos del Instituto Canario de Ciencias Marinas 5: 49–85.