Order: Lamniformes Class: Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) Max. size: 515.0 cm TL (male/unsexed) Environment: pelagic; marine ; depth range 0 - 165 m Climate: deep-water; 38°N - 32°S Importance: fisheries: of no interest Distribution: Pacific and Atlantic Oceans: 14 specimens were known in 2000, from Hawaii, California, Japan, Senegal, Brazil, Philippines, and Indonesia. Biology: Oceanic, possibly occurring in depths between 150 and 1,000 m. Feeds on planktivorous prey such as euphausid shrimps, copepods and jellyfish. May also eat small midwater fishes. Possibly less active than the basking and whale sharks. Its feeding habits and habitat suggest that it may be a rare catch in the future. Probably ovoviviparous. Males mature by 400 cm. Preyed on by the semiparasitic cookiecutter shark, Isistius brasiliensis. Threatened: Data deficient. A large, mainly deepwater filter-feeding species that is known from only a few bycaught or stranded specimens and is apparently very rare throughout its range. It could increasingly be taken as bycatch in deepwater fisheries. Danger: Harmless | 
