Description: A large, slender, fusiform shark, with a long snout. Large horizontally oval eyes; long mouth, broadly arched, and moderately long labial furrows. Bladelike compressed teeth with oblique cusps. Vestigial nasal flaps. Second dorsal fin much smaller than the first, and about the same size as the anal fin. Very long caudal fin lobe. Uniformly grey of bronze above; white below.
Global Distribution: Worldwide in temperate waters. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 193 cm (total length; male); 195.0 cm (TL; female); common length 160 cm (TL); maximum published weight: 44.7 kg.
Behavioural ecology: Occurs in small schools. There is pronounced partial segregation by size and sex in some areas.
Population structure & migrations: Highly migratory in higher latitudes in their range.
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 0 - 1100 m, usually 2 - 470 m.
Habitat: Benthopelagic. Mainly demersal on continental and insular shelves, but also on the upper slopes, at depths from near shore to 550 m. Has been shown to be pelagic in the open ocean.
Feeding habits: Feeds on fishes (benthic as well as pelagic species), crustaceans, cephalopods, worms, and echinoderms.
Trophic level: FishBase: 4.2
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Commercial species.
Conservation status: Global: Vulnerable.
Northeast Atlantic: Data deficient.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Direcção Regional de Pescas, Madeira.
Ebert D.A., Stehmann M.F.W. (2013). Sharks, batoids, and chimaeras of the North Atlantic. FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes, No. 7. FAO, Rome, 523 pp.
Gibson C., Valenti S.V., Fordham S.V., Fowler S.L. (2008). The Conservation of Northeast Atlantic Chondrichthyans: Repost of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group Northeast Atlantic Red List Workshop. IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Groups, NatureBureau, Newbury, UK, 76 pp.
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.org
Rosa A., Menezes G., Melo O., Pinho M.R. (2006). Weight–length relationships of 33 demersal fish species from Azores archipelago. Fisheries Research, 80(2): 329-332.
