sixgill shark
Hexanchus vitulus Springer & Waller, 1969
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 Atlantic sixgill shark (Hexanchus vitulus) is one of the five extant species of the Hexanchidae family of cow sharks. They are found in the Atlantic Ocean at depths that are greater than 300 meters. Due to their habitat being difficult to access for humans, they are rarely encountered and hard to study. The Atlantic sixgill shark is very similar to other species of cow shark in terms of its morphology and growth rate in deep sea waters. It is believed that this is due to the abiotic and biotic factors in relation to the depths at which they are found. It was first described as its own species in 1969, but was later synonymized with the morphologically similar bigeye sixgill shark (Hexanchus nakamurai). However, a study published in 2018 resurrected the species on the basis of molecular data.
Wikipedia contributors, Atlantic sixgill shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:33:59.781056+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hexanchus vitulus Springer & Waller, 1969
- Name authority
- Springer & Waller, 1969
- Common name
- sixgill shark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Hexanchiformes
- Family
- Hexanchidae
- Genus
- Hexanchus
- 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
- genusHexanchus Rafinesque, 1810
- speciesHexanchus vitulus Springer & Waller, 1969
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hexanchus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| bluntnose sixgill sharkHexanchus griseus (Bonnaterre, 1788) | HexanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| bigeye sixgill sharkHexanchus nakamurai Teng, 1962 | HexanchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Springer, S., & Waller, R. A. (1969). Hexanchus vitulus, a new sixgill shark from the Bahamas. Bulletin of Marine Science, 19. 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:6LTFL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.