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Brier Shark
Deania calcea (Lowe, 1839)
The Brier Shark has a very long, flattened snout and two dorsal fins, each preceded by a spine.
The 74cm Brier shark in the lower images was caught off southern New South Wales in June 1999 by M. Kelly on the FV James Kerlin. The Brier Shark is normally light or dark grey to dark brown, but this specimen is an albino. It is now registered in the Australian Museum Fish Collection (AMS I.39921-001).
The Brier Shark is a deepwater species. It is usually recorded from depths of 400m to 900m, although it has been recorded from 70m to 1450m. It lives on continental and insular slopes in the eastern Atlantic and the eastern and western Pacific. In Australia it is recorded around the south of the continent, (including Tasmania), from northern New South Wales to south-western Western Australia.
This species feeds on fishes and crustaceans. It grows to 113cm in length. Pups are born at about 30cm, and both males and females mature at about 70cm.
The Brier Shark is not an important commercial species in Australia. In some countries however it is targeted for its liver which has a high squalene (an oil produced in the liver of some sharks) content.
The genus Deania contains a second Australian species, the Longsnout Dogfish Deania quadrispinosa. The most obvious difference between them is the shape of the first dorsal fin. In the Brier Shark it is long and low, whereas the first dorsal fin of the Longsnout Dogfish is higher and has a shorter base.
Further reading
- Stevens, J.D. in Gomon, M.F, Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Last, P.R. & JD Stevens. 1994 Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513.
- View a Gummy Shark with unusual pigmentation.
