prickly shark

Open encyclopedia reference

The prickly shark (Echinorhinus cookei) is one of the two species of sharks in the family Echinorhinidae (the other one is the bramble shark), found in the Pacific Ocean over continental and insular shelves and slopes, and in submarine canyons. Bottom-dwelling in nature, it generally inhabits cool waters 100–650 m (330–2,130 ft) deep, but it also frequently enters shallower water in areas such as Monterey Bay off California. This stocky, dark-colored shark grows up to 4.0 m (13.1 ft) long, with two small dorsal fins positioned far back on its body and no anal fin. It is characterized by a dense covering of thornlike dermal denticles, hence its common name. Nocturnally active, the prickly shark rests during the day in deeper offshore waters and performs a diel migration to shallower inshore waters at dusk. Individual sharks have a small home range and tend to remain within a given local area. This species consumes a variety of bony and cartilaginous fishes, and cephalopods. Since it moves slowly, it may use suction to capture prey.

Wikipedia contributors, Prickly shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:33:35.826089+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Echinorhinus cookei Pietschmann, 1928

Name authority

Pietschmann, 1928

Common name

prickly shark

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Elasmobranchii

Order

Echinorhiniformes

Family

Echinorhinidae

Genus

Echinorhinus

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumChondrichthyes
7. classElasmobranchii
8. subclassNeoselachii
9. infraclassSelachii
10. superorderSqualomorphi
11. orderEchinorhiniformes
12. familyEchinorhinidae Gill, 1862
13. genusEchinorhinus Blainville, 1816
14. speciesEchinorhinus cookei Pietschmann, 1928

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Echinorhinus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 2 records assigned to Echinorhinidae.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Pietschmann, V. (1928). Neue Fischarten aus dem Pazifischen Ozean. Anzeiger Der Kaiserlichen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, Wien, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe, v. 65 (no. 27): 297–298. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:38KP2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.