Broadnose sevengill sharks have few known predators, probably due to their large size and potential aggressiveness. Known predators are great white sharks and killer whales.
Known Predators:
Although N. cepedianus is wide-spread, little is known about communication and perception among sevengill sharks. Sharks, in general, have a well-developed chemical sensory abilities, as well as being able to detect changes in water pressure and electrical currents.
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical ; electric
Notorynchus cepedianus is listed on the IUCN Red List as data deficient because there is not enough data to infer direct or indirect risk of extinction based on its distribution and/or population status. Therefore, more information is required before any further categorization may be employed.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: data deficient
Aggresive when provoked, N. cepedianus can potentially be considered dangerous to humans in open waters. It has been documented to have attacked divers when in captivity and may have been involved in various shark attacks off the coast of California and South Africa. However, it should be noted that these shark attacks have not been verified to have been caused by broadnosed sevengill sharks.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (bites or stings)
Notorynchus cepedianus is a large shark and has high quality flesh which makes it a highly fished species. Sevengill sharks are used for human consumption, the skin is used for leather, and the liver is used as a source of oil.
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material
This species is a large predator which feeds on many prey but there little information on any ecological effects. Sevengill sharks are predators that feed at or near the top of the food chain and have few known predators (white shark and killer whale).
An opportunistic predator, N. cepedianus feeds on many prey including sharks, rays, chimeras, dolphins, porpoises, seals, bony fish such as salmon, sturgeon, herring, anchovies and mammalian carrion, including rats and humans. N. cepedianus has many adaptations and tactics to catch prey. They hunt in groups and ambush prey by sneaking up on them and attacking at high speed. The lower jaw contains comb-shaped teeth and the teeth in the upper jaw are jagged, allowing these sharks to eat large prey. When N. cepedianus bites into its prey the jaw becomes anchored by the lower teeth and then the shark thrashes its head back and forth to saw off pieces of flesh with the upper teeth. This species slowly digest food for up to hours or days. This practice allows the shark to go for days without expending energy to hunt. As little as one-tenth of its body weight in food each month is consumed by an adult sevengill shark.
Animal Foods: mammals; fish; eggs; carrion ; mollusks
Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats terrestrial vertebrates, Piscivore )
With the exception of the northern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, broadnose sevengill sharks can be found in all oceans. The distribution extends from Southern Brazil to Northern Argentina in the Southwestern region of the Atlantic Ocean, from Nambia to South Africa in the Southeastern region of the Atlantic Ocean, from Southern Japan to New Zealand in the Western Pacific zone, and from Canada to Chile in the Eastern Pacific Region. Sitings of the sevengill shark have been recorded in the Indian Ocean, however, the validity of this information is uncertain.
Biogeographic Regions: indian ocean (Native ); atlantic ocean (Native ); pacific ocean (Native )
Sevengill sharks are a marine benthic animals associated with continental shelves. Sevengill sharks inhabit different depth ranges depending on size. Large sevengill sharks prefer to inhabit deep ocean waters offshore at depths of up to 570 m and reside in deep channels in bays. Smaller individuals prefer to inhabit shallow, coastal waters at depths of less than 1 m and are common in shallow bays near shore and estuaries. In general, sevengill sharks show a preference for rocky bottom habitats although they commonly appear in muddy and sandy environments. Sevengill sharks prefer swimming slowly at the bottom but occasionally swim at the surface.
Range depth: 0 to 570 m.
Average depth: 45 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; saltwater or marine
Aquatic Biomes: benthic ; coastal
Other Habitat Features: intertidal or littoral
There is little information available about the lifespan of Notorynchus cepedianus. Unfortunately, although there are significant numbers of N. cepedianus available in the wild to study, information regarding these sharks is scarce. The life expectancy of this species is expected to be about 50 years.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 50 (high) years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 49 years.
Broadnosed sevengill sharks have seven gill slits (most sharks have only five) in front of the pectoral fins, have a broadly rounded head with a short blunt nose, a wide mouth beneath the snout, a single dorsal fin (most sharks have two) located far back on the body, small eyes, a heterocercal caudal fin, and an anal fin smaller than the dorsal fin. There are numerous small, black spots on the body. The back and sides of these sharks are either redish-brown to silvery grey or olive-brown and the underside is cream colored. Broadnosed sevengills have teeth in their lower jaw that are comb-shaped and teeth in their upper jaw that are jagged. Maximum reported length is 300 cm and the maximum reported weight is 107 kg. Size at birth ranges between 45 and 53 cm with males reaching maturity between 150 and 180 cm in length and females reaching maturity between 192 and 208 cm. Females are generally larger than males.
Range mass: 107 (high) kg.
Range length: 150 to 300 cm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger
Courtship in sevengill sharks is complex. The exact form of courtship is unknown, but it involves the male continuously biting the female to attract her attention. Eventually, the male lies side-by-side with the female, inserts his claspers and holds on during mating by grasping onto the gill opening or pectoral fins by biting into them. What leads to courtship is unknown because it has rarely been observed.
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
The mode of reproduction is ovoviparous. Spawning frequency for broadnose sevengill sharks occurs in one clear seasonal peak per year. Females move to shallow bays to give birth after a gestation period of 12 months, which occurs during spring and early summer. Sevengill sharks have large litters of 82 to 95 young each about 40 to 45 cm in length. For the first few years, young pups remain in coastal shallow bays, which provide protection from predators, until they are mature enough to migrate to offshore environments. The average reproductive age is not known but is believed to be between 20 to 25 years in females. Females give birth every two years (every 24 months) after consecutive year-long ovarion and gestation cycles meaning the reproductive cycle is biennial.I n general, this species has low fecundity, is slow growing, gives birth to large young, matures late, lives long, and has high survival rates.
Breeding interval: Breeding occurs once every two years.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs in spring and early summer months.
Range number of offspring: 82 to 95.
Range gestation period: 12 (high) months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 11 to 21 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 4.3 to 5 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); ovoviviparous
The young are nurtured internally. The eggs hatch within the females body and the young are nourished via an independent yolk sac located within the female's uterus. Upon depletion of the yolksac, the embryo obtains nutrients from uterine secretions until birth occurs. After birth, young feed independently lacking maternal or paternal assistance, there is no post-birth parental care.
Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
The broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus) is the only extant member of the genus Notorynchus, in the family Hexanchidae. It is recognizable because of its seven gill slits, while most shark species have five gill slits, with the exception of the members of the order Hexanchiformes and the sixgill sawshark. This shark has a large, thick body, with a broad head and blunt snout. The top jaw has jagged, cusped teeth and the bottom jaw has comb-shaped teeth. Its single dorsal fin is set far back along the spine towards the caudal fin, and is behind the pelvic fins. In this shark the upper caudal fin is much longer than the lower, and is slightly notched near the tip. Like many sharks, this sevengill is counter-shaded. Its dorsal surface is silver-gray to brown in order to blend with the dark water and substrate when viewed from above. In counter to this, its ventral surface is very pale, blending with the sunlit water when viewed from below. The body and fins are covered in a scattering of small black & white spots. In juveniles, their fins often have white margins.
It is also known as sevengill shark or simply sevengill and was formerly known as cow shark and mud shark; it is called sevengill due to its seven gill slits. Because of this, it was listed along with the sharpnose sevengill shark (Heptranchias perlo) by Guinness World Records as having the most gill slits.[2] It is similar to the sharpnose sevengill shark but the latter has a pointed snout and lacks spots on its dorsal surface.[3][4] The sevengill species are also related to ancient sharks as fossils from the Jurassic Period (200 to 145 million years ago) also had seven gills. As recently as the 1930s and 1940s, the shark was targeted by fisheries along the coast of California and, once the commercial fishery receded, recreational fishing of the shark started in the 1980s and 1990s.[5]
The genus name Notorynchus a portmanteau is derived from the Ancient Greek νῶτον (nôton, meaning "back") prefixed to the Ancient Greek ῥῠ́γχος (rhúnkhos, meaning “snout”).[6] It has been interpreted that this refers to the spots on the broadnose sevengill's dorsal. The specific epithet cepedianus is derived from a variation of the name Lacepede, which refers to Bernard Germain de Lacépède, a French naturalist during the late 18th and early 19th century.[7] Altogether, the scientific name as a whole literally means "Lacepede's back snout".
The common name "broadnose sevengill shark" refers to the seven gill slits the species possesses and the shape of its snout. Sometimes, the name is shortened to "sevengill shark" or simply "sevengill". However, a variety of other common names are known in many languages. Other known common names in English include the bluntnose sevengill shark, broad-snout, cowshark, ground shark, seven-gill cowshark, seven-gilled shark, spotted cow shark, spotted seven-gill shark, and Tasmanian tiger shark. Common names from other languages include cação-bruxa (Portuguese), cañabota gata, gatita, tiburón de 7 gallas, tiburón pinto, and tollo fume (Spanish), ebisuzame and minami-ebisuzame (Japanese), gevlekte zevenkieuwshaai (Dutch), kammzähner and Siebenkiemiger Pazifischer Kammzähner (German), koeihaai (Afrikaans), k'wet'thenéchte (Salish), minami-ebisuzame (Japanese), platneus-sewekiefhaai (Afrikaans), platnez and requin malais (French), siedmioszpar plamisty (Polish), and tuatini (Maori).[3][5]
The length at birth is 40–45 cm (15.5–17.5 in) while the mature male length is 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and mature female length is around 2.2 m (7.2 ft).[1] The maximum length found is 3 metres (9.8 ft). The shark is large and active and has a large head but small eyes and snout.[5] The mouth is broad and prominent.[8] The shark has one dorsal fin at the back of the body that spans from the insertion to the tops of the pelvic fins.[5] The mottled grey and white body is covered in a variable number of small black spots.[8]
Front part including the seven gills
Bottom part
Jaws
Upper teeth
Lower teeth
CT scan of the broadnose sevengill shark's braincase
The broadnose sevengill has so far been found in the western Pacific Ocean off China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the eastern Pacific Ocean off Canada, United States and Chile, and the southern Atlantic Ocean off Argentina and South Africa. It is significantly found in the San Francisco Bay particularly near the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island.[9] Large, old individuals tend to live in deep offshore environments as far down as 446 feet (136 m). However, most individuals live in either the deep channels of bays, or in the shallower waters of continental shelves and estuaries. These sharks are mainly benthic in nature, cruising along the sea floor and making an occasional foray to the surface.[10] Individuals that live closer to the coast in South Africa tend to prefer more open areas with a sandy sea floor and sparse clumps of kelp.[8]
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An opportunistic predator, the broadnose sevengill preys on a great variety of animals and has been found at a depth of 1,870 feet (570 meters) in offshore waters.[5] It has been found to feed on sharks (including gummy shark, one of its main prey,[11] and cowsharks), rays, chimaeras, cetaceans, pinnipeds, bony fishes and carrion and will also feed on whatever it finds such as shark egg cases, sea snails and remains of rats and humans. Research in 2003 found that its diet consisted of 30% mammals with a frequency of occurrence of 35%.[12] It is a frequent top predator in shallow waters[13] and has comb-like teeth,[14] with the upper teeth having slender, smooth edged cusps to swallow small enough prey whole and lower teeth broad enough to bite prey to pieces.[15] These sharks occasionally hunt in packs to take down larger prey, using tactics such as stealth to succeed.[16] After feeding, it slowly digests the food for several hours and days and can go weeks until eating again.[17] Large predatory sharks such as the great white shark can be a threat and cannibalism among this shark has also been recorded. The species have also been observed being preyed upon by Orcas in False Bay on the South African coast.[18] When not highly active, it hunts stealthily while making very little movement except for moving its caudal fin until dashing to strike.[5]
It can be one of the most abundant predators in coastal waters in summer and, in southeast Tasmania, there is a high abundance of elasmobranches including the gummy shark in coastal regions in summer. In New Zealand, it is also one of the most common inshore sharks.[19] While it is mainly a nocturnal forager, it may opportunistically feed on prey casually found during the day, however, research in 2010, found even amounts of activity during day and night. During this research, this shark was consistently detected at all depths from bottom to near surface whereas it was the substrate during the day. It also found that as Norfolk Bay does not have adequate shelter cover, this species may use group formation to avoid predation.[11]
This sevengill, like all other members of Hexanchiformes, is ovoviviparous. The broadnose sevengill lives for about 30 years[1] although the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in Washington state lists a maximum of 49 years.[20] with the male maturing at 4 to 5 years and the female 11 to 21 years; the average reproductive age for a female is 20 to 25 years.[21] After a 12-month gestation period, the female moves to a shallow bay or estuary to give birth between April and May[22] to a large litter of between 82 and 95 pups, measuring 40–45 cm (15.5–17.5 in).
In 2004 and 2005, along with research for the sand tiger shark, there was research for the broadnose sevengill shark for development techniques for semen collection and artificial insemination to potentially increase breeding and lower overreliance on natural mating.[23] Research in 2010 found that this shark has very poorly calcified vertebrae that cannot be used for age and growth estimations.[24] Research in 2009 in Ría Deseado (RD) and Bahía San Julián (SJ), Argentina found that females were larger in RD than SJ and the heaviest female in RD was 70 kg while it was 36.9 kg in SJ. For the males, the heaviest in RD was 40 kg while it was 32.5 in SJ. Both locations also found the most significant to occur December and January.[25]
Research in 2014 also found that for the first time, reproductive hormones levels were found in the broadnose sevengill shark.[26] for a few years before venturing out. The probable predators of this species are larger sharks. Research from 2002 showed that although juvenile sevengill sharks utilize nursery areas in a similar way, males mature faster than females even if they are the same size and thus males are more likely to leave the nursery area before females.[27]
In 2004, John G Maisey of the American Museum of Natural History published a detailed analysis of the broadnose sevengill shark including imagery such as CT scans and morphology of its braincase.[28]
The broadnose sevengill is listed by the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable throughout its range. [5] This species likely suffers great ongoing pressure[1] from various types of fisheries, and from frequently being caught as bycatch. In Argentina, it's fished by rod and reel and broadnose sevengill shark fishing competitions have been occurring since the 1960s.[25] It is also threatened by water pollution and is hunted for its liveroil and hide which is considered good quality in places such as China. In the early 1980s, intense fishing in the San Francisco Bay caused a local decline. In June 2018 the New Zealand Department of Conservation classified the broadnose sevengill shark as "Not Threatened" with the qualifiers "Data Poor" and "Secure Overseas" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[29]
Its meat and fins are in demand in countries such as the US, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Netherlands and Israel, and is packaged for frozen food.[30] The broadnose sevengill is also a source of vitamin A and utilized by South African sport anglers for winter tournaments, however, this shark is not easy to land despite being readily hooked.[4]
It is frequently seen by tourists[31] and in temperate water aquariums and can adapt to captivity.[32] One of the aquariums that houses the broadnose sevengill shark, Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon, has featured it as a "keynote species".[33] There is also an app Sevengill Shark Tracking "Shark Observers" that allows divers to log sightings that are added to the Shark Observation Network, where the information supports "environmental awareness, assessment and policy making, and public participation at a global level".[34]
Not many conservation measures are known but it has been recorded from one marine reserve in South Africa and it occurs in La Jolla Cove, La Jolla, San Diego, California with the latter having an apparent population increase in 2013.[35] 2009 research also suggested that Bahía Anegada be made a conservation area given the high number of sharks there.[25] In Washington state, recreational fishing of broadnose sevengill shark is closed on all state waters.[20] In Victoria, Australia, the Department of Environment and Primary Industries sets a one bag limit and must be whole or in carcass form.[36]
The International Shark Attack File considers this shark to be potentially dangerous because of its proximity to humans, and because of its aggressive behavior when provoked. It has also been noted as being aggressive towards divers and spearfishermen in both public aquariums and the wild. In 2013, in Fiordland, New Zealand, a sevengill bit a diver's regulator and then his head.[5][37] Human remains were also supposedly found in one specimen's stomach. Seven attacks on humans by the broadnose sevengill have been recorded since the 16th century, with no known fatalities. In 2020 a 13 year old girl was bitten while surfing at Oreti Beach in New Zealand. The girl continued to surf for an hour before realizing her leg was bleeding.[38]
The broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus) is the only extant member of the genus Notorynchus, in the family Hexanchidae. It is recognizable because of its seven gill slits, while most shark species have five gill slits, with the exception of the members of the order Hexanchiformes and the sixgill sawshark. This shark has a large, thick body, with a broad head and blunt snout. The top jaw has jagged, cusped teeth and the bottom jaw has comb-shaped teeth. Its single dorsal fin is set far back along the spine towards the caudal fin, and is behind the pelvic fins. In this shark the upper caudal fin is much longer than the lower, and is slightly notched near the tip. Like many sharks, this sevengill is counter-shaded. Its dorsal surface is silver-gray to brown in order to blend with the dark water and substrate when viewed from above. In counter to this, its ventral surface is very pale, blending with the sunlit water when viewed from below. The body and fins are covered in a scattering of small black & white spots. In juveniles, their fins often have white margins.
It is also known as sevengill shark or simply sevengill and was formerly known as cow shark and mud shark; it is called sevengill due to its seven gill slits. Because of this, it was listed along with the sharpnose sevengill shark (Heptranchias perlo) by Guinness World Records as having the most gill slits. It is similar to the sharpnose sevengill shark but the latter has a pointed snout and lacks spots on its dorsal surface. The sevengill species are also related to ancient sharks as fossils from the Jurassic Period (200 to 145 million years ago) also had seven gills. As recently as the 1930s and 1940s, the shark was targeted by fisheries along the coast of California and, once the commercial fishery receded, recreational fishing of the shark started in the 1980s and 1990s.
