Prickly shark

Prickly shark
Conservation status
Near Threatened
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Order:	Squaliformes
Family:	Echinorhinidae
Genus:	Echinorhinus
Species:	E. cookei
Binomial name
Echinorhinus cookei (Pietschmann, 1928)

Template:Sharksportal The prickly shark, Echinorhinus cookei, is a species of large bottom dwelling shark from the Pacific Ocean.

Physical characteristics

The prickly shark has no anal fin and two small spineless dorsal fins set far on the back by the tail. Maximum length 4 m. Looks very similar to the bramble shark but without the thorny denticles.

Distribution

The prickly shark occurs throughout the Pacific, including Taiwan, New Zealand, Hawaii, California and Chile, among other locations.

Habits and habitat

The prickly shark lives along shelves and slopes at depths between 11 and 425 m. It is often found in submarine canyons. Other sharks and bony fish are its usual food but it will also eat octopus, squid, and even catshark eggcases. Reproduction is ovoviviparous, with up to 114 pups in a litter.

References

• Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is near threatened
• "Echinorhinus cookei". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 30 January. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2005). "Echinorhinus cookei" in FishBase. 10 2005 version.
• ^ Brito, J. (2004). Presence of the smooth hammerhead Sphyrna zygaena (Carchariniformes: Sphyrnidae) and new records of prickly shark Echinorhinus cookei (Squaliformes: Squalidae) in San Antonio, central Chile (abstract in English, text in Spanish). Investigaciones marinas 32 (2).
• FAO Species Catalogue Volume 4 Parts 1 and 2 Sharks of the World