Knifetooth Dogfish

Black in color; small dorsal fin spines; short snout; small lanceolate teeth without cusplets in upper jaw and huge high, knife-cusped cutting teeth in lower jaw; mouth very wide and broadly arched; caudal fin with weak subterminal notch and no lower lobe (Ref. 247).

Probably ovoviviparous (Ref. 247). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).

Anal spines: 0; Analsoft rays: 0

A rare species (Ref. 26346) inhabiting continental slopes (Ref. 247). Usually mesopelagic although taken most often near the bottom (Ref. 10717). Its razor-edged lower teeth is used to attack and dismember large prey (Ref. 247). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205). Utilized dried salted for human consumption and for fishmeal (Ref. 247).

fisheries: minor commercial; price category: unknown; price reliability:

The knifetooth dogfish (Scymnodon ringens), is a harmless sleeper shark of the family Somniosidae, found in the eastern Atlantic, from Scotland to Spain, Portugal, and Senegal, and the southwest Pacific from New Zealand, between latitudes 58°N and 15°N, at depths of between 200 and 1,600 m. Its length is up to 1.1 metres (3.6 ft).