#Bluntnose six gill

[moon-snailsss]

Bluntnose Six-Gill shark

Felt like I should finally make a post about my favorite shark species (They are my everything)

Basics

Bluntnose Six-Gill sharks are the largest species in their order(Hexanchiformes), with males reaching lengths of 12 feet and females reaching lengths of 18 feet! Belonging to the cow shark family (Hexanchidae), this species has remained relatively unchanged since the early Jurassic period. Their name reflects their distinctive anatomy (extra gill slits) :3

Physical characteristics

The Bluntnose Six-Gill sharks have many distinctive features, such as their streamlined, elongated body, a blunt snout, and a small dorsal fin positioned towards the back of its body. It has grayish-brown skin that helps it blend into its dark surroundings, while a pale belly provides camouflage from below (Countershading). Many people don’t think that Bluntnose sharks have dorsal fins, but that’s untrue! Unlike most sharks, they only have one dorsal fin, however it’s located more posteriorly compared to others. This adaptation is common in bottom-dwelling species as they don’t require the same level of speed as pelagic species! With a dorsal fin that’s positioned closer to the caudal fin, it enables them to make sharper turns and increases maneuverability.

Respiratory features/evolution

As we’ve previously noted, Bluntnose sharks have six gills, but why? The additional gill slit allows the Bluntnose shark to extract oxygen from the water more efficiently, which is a crucial adaptation in deep-sea environments where oxygen is scarce. Older species from the cow shark family have persistently remained unchanged, and continue to find success with a more primitive body.

Habitat

Bluntnose Six-Gill sharks are found all over the world on continental shelves, slopes, abyssal plains, seamounts, and mid ocean ridges. They reside in deep, cold waters between 200-1000 meters in temperate climates, but can be found in shallower waters in cooler climates. Scientists have primarily studied their behavior in shallower waters in high latitudes, but less is known about their behavior in deeper waters.

Migration

Bluntnose Six-Gill sharks exhibit diel vertical migration, which means they migrate vertically through the water column during the day and night. They stay in deeper depths around 600 meters during the day, and then move to shallower depths of around 200 meters during the night. Diel vertical migration isn’t uncommon among smaller marine organisms such as zooplankton, fish and squid. They travel deeper during the daytime to avoid predators, and migrate back to shallower depths at night to feed. Scientists are unsure why Bluntnose sharks exhibit this behavior, BUT I think it’s because they track the abundance of migrating prey items, as they feed on most of the smaller organisms I listed.

Diet

Bluntnose sharks feed on fish, squid, rays crustaceans, and agnathans (hagfish and sea lampreys). They also scavenge carrion and participate in feeding frenzies.

Reproduction

Bluntnose sharks reproduce through ovoviviparity. This means that the eggs hatch inside the female, where embryos develop until they’re ready to be born. Scientists believe their gestation periods last longer than two years. Litter sizes range from 20-110 pups, however it suggest that mortality rates for the pups may be high. Each pup is around 70 cm at birth.

Conservation status

The Bluntnose shark is listed as near threatened on the IUCN list. Its popularity as a sport fish makes it vulnerable to exploitation.

That’s pretty much it :3 all of this is why, you too should love the Bluntnose-Six gill shark 🦈

[futurebird]

I'm developing a mild side obsession with six-gill sharks. (Hexanchus griseus) Let me tell you the features:

* Long * No dorsal fin? No wait there it is in the back * Huge doleful eyes * Murky lurkers * Just wanna eat! * Cool shape and sleek long fashionable tail

These are the best sharks. The great white is so basic. I love all graceful yet deeply awkward creatures.

What is your favorite fish?

[moon-snailsss]

Who is this DIVA💜?

crab uber

[mirrorbuck]

9-1-1 characters as sharks❕🦈

As a shark nerd, I had to. Enjoy! :)

1 - ✭ Bobby ; angel shark

• They spend most of their time hiding in mud and dust

2 - ✭ Athena ; leopard shark

• Their rough skin makes it hard for stuff to settle on them.

3 - ✭ May ; zebra shark

• As they mature, their stripes fade and then become small dark spots, which is why they are often mistaken for leopard sharks

4 - ✭ Hen ; mako shark

• They are very fast and smart sharks

5 - ✭ Karen ; silky shark

• They have a great hearing

6 - ✭ Chimney ; spiny dogfish shark

• They’re quite small

7 - ✭ Maddie ; blue shark

• They will attack if they feel threatened

8 - ✭ Daniel ; whale shark

• Only 10% of whale sharks make it to adulthood

9 - ✭ Buck ; lemon shark

• They are very loyal to their home, are highly social and can be jealous of other lemon sharks. They’ve also been known to help out humans who are lost and in danger

10 - ✭ Eddie ; white tip shark

• They swim away when swimmers or divers approach

11 - ✭ Ravi ; nurse shark

• Really friendly and social

12 - ✭ Albert ; bluntnose six gills shark

• Their ability to handle a variety of temperatures and depths allows them to go wherever they like

13 - ✭ Lucy ; megalodon

• There’s still a lot we don’t know about them

14 - ✭ Josh ; horn shark

• They have a tough exterior and sharp spines to protect themselves

—————

The end 🦈🌊 Thank you for reading <3

[sharkest-sharks]

I posted 107 times in 2022

That's 107 more posts than 2021!

30 posts created (28%)

77 posts reblogged (72%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sharkest-sharks

@sea-boi

@sharks-house

@real-fluke

@p4nsy

I tagged 103 of my posts in 2022

Only 4% of my posts had no tags

#sharks - 92 posts

#marine life - 17 posts

#ocean creatures - 16 posts

#sharkest - 12 posts

#sharks adjacent - 7 posts

#sand tiger shark - 5 posts

#shark info - 5 posts

#asks - 4 posts

#thresher shark - 4 posts

#art - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 75 characters

#i remember i watched this one video and it had a picture of a basking shark

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Zebra shark time

*muffled screaming in the background* (THEY. ARE.. SO FUCKING. PRETTY)

apologies for the disturbance, now back to our regular shark rating schedule

a carpet dude with fins that look so much softer than other sharks due to Round™

the name is dumb. I will never get over it, but they are so beautiful. looking at them cleanses the darkest pits of my soul and i think that's a very sharky trait

10/10 shark, would cry if i see one irl

86 notes - Posted October 2, 2022

#4

Silky shark!!

They get their name from being smoother, by which I mean they're covered in more denticles than most other sharks

He is so cute to me, I mean LOOK at that face

smooth + dumb face what is more shark like than this 10/10 shark

106 notes - Posted August 17, 2022

#3

sixgill shark!!

take. take a wild guess on why they’re called that. a wild guess

to be fair there is other species that have six (6) gills. but this isn’t about them!! anyways sixgills are adorable. HOW do they do that seriously. when people say sharks are like ocean puppies they mean her ↓

and excuse me but. bluntnose sixgill shark? bigeyed sixgill shark? those names are hilarious i love them and everyone else should too

9/10 shark, please let me pet you please please p

See the full post

113 notes - Posted October 29, 2022

#2

i should start doing this

130 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I can't find the post but someone mentioned the Sharktivity app and obviously I *had* to download it

So here is a compilation of the best shark names I've seen on it so far

See the full post

409 notes - Posted September 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[freesomebodybyluna]

Why don't more people on tmblr listen to chungha like why is there a chungha deficiency on tumblr??? Y'all are always complaining about your beautiful gorjus female soloist faves not releasing new music & by the time they do chunghasus has already come out w 3 singles like...pay attention to her??? Did y'all even care about stay tonight??? Play??? Watch the performance video for dream of you where shes dancing all smexy on the floor w fruity male backup dancers?? I got whisky i got gin & lingerie....does that ring a bell?? No? Wtf y'all make me sick

[moon-snailsss]

My silly little guy

[mrgabel]

Finally, I'm revealing my entries for this year’s @swimonzine Swim On 8: Offshore! I was pleased to read the notifications about how many participated and donated through purchasing this beautiful zine.

Time for the reveal:

THE BLUNTNOSE SIXGILL SHARK It is a stout shark with six gill slits who (surprise surprise!) has a short blunt nose. This shark is also sluggish, but a very strong swimmer. It is capable of boosting its speed for stalking and catching prey using its powerful tail. Its favourite meals are: fish, rays and squids. Despite its massive size, this species is rather hamless to humans, unless provoked. Unfortunately, not only endangered because it is often bycatch, but also because its popularity as a sport fish has depleted these beautiful creatures in many areas.

[develation]

IT CAME!!!

These are all absolutely beautiful. The art prints came in perfect quality and packaging, and I was emailed as soon as they arrived. I was also notified of the delay on my notebook and exactly when it came in, which is also beautiful in quality (yes, the paper too) and safely packaged. Both also came like, 2-4 days early which was a wonderful surprise.

I love marine life (Moray Eels all the way baby) and I first started my obsession with sharks when I discovered the "Living Fossils" genius. Mainly the Bluntnose Six-gilled (or Cow) Shark and the Frilled Shark which are both amazing species that I will cherish forever. Still, the Thresher, Great White, Blacktip, Whitetip, Hammerhead, Whale, Mako, Greenland, and Basking Sharks all hold a special place in my heart.

@requinoesis your art is wonderful and your efforts to support sharks and their preservation are even more inspiring. Thank you for your talent, and I will be framing the prints and using the notebook for Lifeguarding and teaching Swim lessons.

Visit requinoesis store here ~ https://www.redbubble.com/people/Requinoesis/explore?asc=u&page=1&sortOrder=recent

[acetheticallynice]

This bluntnose sixgill shark was spotted off Santa Cruz Island at a depth of 306 metres. As its name suggests, this shark has a characteristically blunt rounded snout and six gill slits on either side of its head, instead of the usual five seen in most shark species. One of the larger sharks in the Eastern Pacific, bluntnose sixgills can stretch over 16 feet long. Resting along the seafloor at depths of up to 2,000 metres during the day, these sharks cruise closer to the surface to feed at night. (Nautilus | 2017 Expedition)

[starful-emporium]

I have excellent news for you regarding the befriend ability of these guys:

TL; DW a couple hundred baby six gills showed up in Seattle (Puget sound) in the 90s and recreational divers became friends with several and even named them!

What do you think about bluntnose sixgill sharks

Hexanchus griseus or the Bluntnose Sixgill Shark or the Cow Shark

These guys just scream "friend" and I want to pet it (granted, I'd want to pet any shark). Most shark species have only five gill slits, but this species is one of the rare exceptions (hence the name). We don't know for sure why it has six slits instead of five. One of the leading theories is that since the species is so old, it first arose when gills were less efficient, so more were needed and that trait was just never lost.

[moon-snailsss]

I got to see a very close relative of my favorite shark; the Bluntnose Six-Gill. I saw the Broadnose sevegill!! Seeing one was so exciting!! They are literally prehistoric babies :3 A fun fact about the Broadnose sevengill is that they’re the only extant member of the genus Notorynchus. Notorynchus is a genus of deep water sharks.

Another fun fact is that I am the #1 fan of all Hexanchiformes

[christionna]

Bluntnose sixgill shark

The bluntnose sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus), often simply called the cow shark, is the largest hexanchoid shark, growing to 20 ft (6.1 m) in length. It is found in tropical and temperate waters worldwide and its diet is widely varied by region.

The blunt nose six gill shark appears to be at ease in the presence of divers. However, it does not like to have physical contact or to be surrounded by humans and will swim off into deeper waters. It has been reported to snap when touched by divers and when caught by fishers.

[unofficial-sean]

HAH I FOUND IT! 

(Bonnaterre, 1788) is a citation I see in every paper I've read on Hexanchus griseus, but never once is it linked in the end-note references, and on Wikipedia it is much the same.

If you search for "Pierre Bonnaterre 1788" you will likely find his Ichthyology and Ornithology encyclopedias published that year, featuring around 400 species of fish in the former with descriptions and some illustrations.

I wanted to see the very first description of the bluntnose sixgill shark, but no matter how hard I looked, I could not find "H. griseus." I did find an "S. griseus," but that's not right. . . the length measurement in the description also read "2-3 Pieds" which is about 65-98cm.  That's the size of a neonate sixgill shark, surely he didn't just describe the species off of one specimen??

Well, he DID! It was the size of a dogfish, so it was given the genus Squamosa. Squamosa griseus. Not even the right order haha. I nailed this down when I translated the very first words of description:

Le Griset 13. S. Griseus  S. cute Squamosa. Spiraculis sex utrinque (Six spiracles each; Six pairs of gill slits, in modern speak). Pinna dorsali unica, (A single dorsal fin)!!!!! It was written in Latin.

I need to find a French speaker to translate the description for me. I'm not sure Google translate was entirely correct.

Then again, it probably sounds in French as 18th century English sounds to us. Ye olde dialect.

CITATION: Bonnaterre, P. J. (1788). Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique des trois règnes de la nature ...: Icthyologie pg. 9

Boom! Mic drop!

Haha! I can't explain why this brings me such joy

[txfeline720]

[ID: A digital artwork with a navy-colored background of Megatron from Transformers IDW. His lower body is the body of a bluntnose six gill shark. A very dark magenta colored silhouette of him stands behind him. end ID]

Mermay day 31: Bluntnose sixgill shark Megatron

[noaasanctuaries]

Check out this bluntnose sixgill shark researchers spotted in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary!

Researchers aboard the E/V Nautilus spotted this bluntnose sixgill shark while diving with remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary!   

This summer, we’ve teamed up with Nautilus Live to explore the deep waters of our West Coast national marine sanctuaries. You can learn more about the expedition here and watch the dives LIVE at nautiluslive.org!

GIF transcript below the cut

This is a bluntnose sixgill shark.

It was seen by researchers aboard the E/V Nautilus in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

This species is known for its characteristic six gills on either side of its head. Most sharks only have five.

These sharks are among the largest in the Eastern Pacific, reaching up to 16 feet in length.

These sharks rest in deep water during the day, up to 6,500 feet, coming closer to the surface to feed at night.

They hunt or scavenge fish, crustaceans, rays, and sometimes seals or other sharks.