Heptranchias perlo

The sharpnose sevengill shark, also known as one-finned shark, perlon shark, sevengill cow shark, sharpsnouted sevengill or slender sevengill, is a species of shark in the family Hexanchidae, and the only living species in the genus Heptranchias. Found almost circumglobally in deep water, it is one of the few species of sharks with seven pairs of gill slits as opposed to the usual five. The other shark species with seven gill slits is the broadnose sevengill shark. Though small, this shark is an active, voracious predator of invertebrates and fish. When caught, this species is notably defensive and will attempt to bite. It is of minor commercial importance.

Heptranchias perlo

NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center · Public Domain · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
sharpnose sevengill sharkPBDB
Sits inside
HeptranchiasPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Hexanchiformes
Life habit
nektonicPBDB, for Hexanchiformes
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Hexanchiformes

Time the record covers

At least 15 million years on record.

The record covers at least 15.98 Mya to 129 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 23.04 Mya to 11.7 ka.

Oligocene — about 0 of 5 occurrencesMiocene — about 4 of 5 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 0 of 5 occurrencesPliocenePleistocene — about 1 of 5 occurrencesPleistocene24–23 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences23–22 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences22–21 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences21–20 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences20–20 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences20–19 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences19–18 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences18–17 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences17–16 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences16–16 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences16–15 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences15–14 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences14–13 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences13–13 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences13–12 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences12–11 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences11–10 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences10–9.4 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences9.4–8.6 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences8.6–7.8 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences7.8–7.1 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences7.1–6.3 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences6.3–5.5 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences5.5–4.7 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences4.7–3.9 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences3.9–3.1 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences785 ka–0 Mya — about 1 occurrence15.98 Mya129 ka23.5 Mya0 Mya

5 occurrences of Heptranchias perlo on record, most of them in the Miocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

5 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

3 formations

Chagres Sandstone — 9.28°N, 80.04°WRío Banano — 9.92°N, 83.55°WCubagua — 10.60°N, 64.24°W

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The named rock units Heptranchias perlo has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 2 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Heptranchias perlo and its relatives

Miocene

Where Heptranchias perlo and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

80 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 5 sites for Heptranchias perlo, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

5 references

Each of the 5 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Heptranchias perlo

Credit
NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Heptranchias perlo was found in Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itHeptranchias through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Bonnaterre 1788)