CHONDRICHTHYES: HEXANCHIFORMES: CHLAMYDOSELACHIDAE: Chlamydoselachus

Chlamydoselachus anguineus Garman, 1884

Frilled shark

Photos & text by Dr. Robert Sprackland

Range: Scattered coastal waters around California, Chile, Western Europe and Africa, New Zealand, se Australia and s Japan.

Diagnosis: An eel-shaped shark with 6 pairs of gill slits, the anterior 1-2 circling under the throat; a single small dorsal fin; and unusual teeth with three cusps each (see photo above right).

Description: Known to grow to about 200 cm / 6.25 feet.

Natural History: Poorly known, but a deep water species only rarely caught in trawls. Diet unknown, but possibly squids and jellyfishes.

Reproduction: Produces 8-12 live young, which measure about  40 cm / 16 inches at birth.

Taxonomy & Relationships: An unusual shark with no close relatives. Occasionally included in the family Hexanchidae.

Variation:

Additional Comments:

Type Specimen: MCZ 800-S, Japan, "probably southeastern Honshu." Dissected by Samuel Garman, now in pieces.

Literature: Click on book to order.

Compagno, Leonard. 1984. FAO Species Catalogue, Vol. 4, Part 1. Sharks of the World. U.N. Development Programme, Rome. ISBN: 92-5-101384-5.

Garman, Samuel. 1997. The Plagiostomia (sharks, skates and rays). Benthic Press, L.A. ISBN: 0-9657121-0-9.

Last, Peter, and J. Stevens. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. ISBN: 0-643-05143-0.

Sprackland, Robert. 1999. Key to the Sharks and Rays of the World. Young Forest Company, Belmont, CA.