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Broadnose Shark
Notorynchus cepedianus (Péron, 1807)
A 2 m long Broadnose Shark caught in nets off Coaldale Beach, south of Sydney, New South Wales. (AMS I.39213-001). Photo: S. Humphreys © Australian Museum.
Head of the Broadnose Shark. Note the cocks-comb shaped teeth in lower jaw. Photo: S. Humphreys © Australian Museum.
Gill slits and pectoral fin base. Photo: S. Humphreys © Australian Museum.
The Broadnose Shark has seven long gill slits in front of the pectoral fins, a single small dorsal fin well back on the body, and a wide, blunt snout. The teeth are cockscomb shaped, those on the lower jaw (see middle image) are wider than those in the upper jaw.
This species is silver-grey to brownish above and white below. It has black and white spots on the upper body and fins.
The Broadnose Shark grows to at least 3 m in length.
It feeds on other sharks, rays, bony fishes, seals and carrion. It is considered potentially dangerous to people, but the only confirmed attacks have been on divers in aquaria.
The Broadnose Shark occurs in most temperate seas. It has been found in shallow surface waters of bays an estuaries down to at least 200 m on the continental shelf.
In Australia it is known from the central coast of New South Wales, around the south of the country, including Tasmania, and west to south-western Western Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Related links
- View scales of the Broadnose Shark
- View the Family Hexanchidae list
- View the Sharks list
Further reading
- Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4, Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes: viii, 1-250.
- Glover, C.J.M. in Gomon, M.F., C.J.M. Glover & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513, Pl. 1-84.
