Pliotrema warreni (Sixgill sawshark)

Regan, 1906

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Chondrichthyes > Elasmobranchii > Squalomorphii > Pristiophoriformes > Pristiophoridae

Pliotrema warreni (Sixgill sawshark) [Illustration by Ann Hecht ©]

Identification

The only shark with a saw-snout and 6 pairs of gill slits. Colour pale brown above, white below.

Size

To 1.7 m TL.

Range

East coast from Cape Agulhas to southern Mozambique; also Madagascar.

Habitat

Shelf and upper slope on or near the bottom at 60 to 430 m.

Biology

Common off Natal and the eastern Cape. Bears 5 to 7 young. Eats bony fish, including eels, sandrats, hake, and gapers, also shrimp, mysids, and squids. Probably uses its saw to stun and kill prey; a live one handled by the senior author whipped its head vigorously from side to side.

Human Impact

Caught in moderate numbers by offshore trawlers and occasionally by sports anglers.

Text by Leonard J.V. Compagno, David A. Ebert and Malcolm J. Smale