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Cow Sharks. Order Hexanchiformes |
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Page 2 of 3 Cow Shark CharacteristicsOrder Hexanchiformes  Broadnose Sevengill Shark (Notorynchus cepedianus). Illustration: R. Aidan Martin
# of Species
| 4 | Body shape
| Rounded, stout body. Species range from 4.5 to 15.5 feet. | Mouth position
| Underneath | Anal fin
| Yes | Dorsal Fin
| 1, far to the back of the shark | Fin spines
| No | # of Gill slits
| 6 or 7 | Reproduction
| Ovoviviparous (eggs develop in the mother’s body and are born alive). Relatively large litters of up to 80 pups born in shallow bays. | Unique qualities
| Extra gills, comb-shaped bottom teeth | Habitat
| Deep, often cold marine exclusively marine, in northern, temperate, and tropical zones of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans
| Food
| Cow sharks are aggressive predators and eat other sharks, rays, bony fish, seals, and scavenged prey |
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