sharpnose sevengill shark
Heptranchias perlo (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The sharpnose sevengill shark (Heptranchias perlo), 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.
Wikipedia contributors, Sharpnose sevengill shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:26:50.718913+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Heptranchias perlo (Bonnaterre, 1788)
- Name authority
- (Bonnaterre, 1788)
- Common name
- sharpnose sevengill shark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Hexanchiformes
- Family
- Hexanchidae
- Genus
- Heptranchias
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassSelachii
- superorderSqualomorphi
- orderHexanchiformes Compagno, 1973
- familyHexanchidae Gray, 1851
- genusHeptranchias Rafinesque, 1810
- speciesHeptranchias perlo (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Heptranchias angio Costa, 1857 Costa, 1857 | synonym |
| Heptranchias dakini Whitley, 1931 Whitley, 1931 | synonym |
| Heptranchus perlo (Bonnaterre, 1788) (Bonnaterre, 1788) | synonym |
| Notidanus cinereus aetatis Bellotti, 1878 Bellotti, 1878 | synonym |
| Notidanus cinereus pristiurus Bellotti, 1878 Bellotti, 1878 | synonym |
| Squalus cinereus Gmelin, 1789 Gmelin, 1789 | synonym |
| Squalus perlo Bonnaterre, 1788 Bonnaterre, 1788 | synonym |
| Notidanus cinereus (Gmelin, 1789) (Gmelin, 1789) | synonym |
| Heptranchias cinereus (Gmelin, 1789) (Gmelin, 1789) | synonym |
| Heptranchias deani Jordan & Starks, 1901 Jordan & Starks, 1901 | synonym |
| Heptrancus angio Costa, 1857 Costa, 1857 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105832 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:3KX95. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.