Genus: Hexanchus, Sixgill Shark, Sixgill Sharks

HEXANCHUS

SIXGILL SHARKS

Body stout or slender; head and snout wide and rounded or slender and pointed; eyes small to large; mouth broad; top teeth small and narrow, lower teeth comb-like (long, low, serrated); six long gill slits, none over pectoral base; one dorsal fin, at rear of body near tail; tail very asymmetrical, with small lower lobe.

This genus, with two species, occurs in tropical to temperate parts of all 3 oceans; both circumglobal temperate species occur in our region.