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Somniosus pacificus  Bigelow & Schroeder, 1944

Pacific sleeper shark
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Somniosus pacificus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Somniosus pacificus (Pacific sleeper shark)
Somniosus pacificus
Juvenile picture by Gadig, O.B.F.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Squaliformes (Bramble, sleeper and dogfish sharks) > Somniosidae (Sleeper sharks)
Etymology: Somniosus: Latin, somnus = sleep (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 0 - 2000 m (Ref. 26346).   Temperate, preferred 18°C (Ref. 107945); 70°N - 47°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North Pacific.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 440 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 247); 430.0 cm TL (female)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. Diagnosis: Somniosus pacificus differs from S. antarcticus by the following characters: interdorsal space about 70% of prebranchial length (vs. 80%); height of first dorsal fin about 3.7% of precaudal length (PCL) (vs. 3.0%); height of second dorsal fin about 3.4% of PCL (vs. 2.9%); number of turns in spiral valve 32-37 (mode 33) (vs. 36-41, mode 39); precaudal vertebrae 28-30 (mode 29) (vs. 30-31, mode 30) (Ref. 50224).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on continental shelves and slopes (Ref. 247). At high latitudes, it occurs in littoral and even intertidal areas; in lower latitudes it may never come to the surface and ranges down to at least 2,000 m (Ref. 247). Feeds on bottom animals such as fishes, octopi, squids, crabs and tritons; also harbor seals and carrion (Ref. 247). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205), with 300 pups in a litter (Ref. 247), length at birth about 42 cm or less (Ref. 26346). The flesh contains a type of toxin which, when eaten, produces symptoms of drunkenness (Ref. 583). Possibly reaches lengths greater than 700 cm (Ref. 247).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Probably ovoviviparous (Ref. 247). Size at birth 42 cm or less (Ref. 26346). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Yano, K., J.D. Stevens and L.J.V. Compagno, 2004. A review of the systematics of the sleeper shark genus Somniosus with redescriptions of Somniosus (Somniosus) antarcticus and Somniosus (Rhinoscymnus) longus (Squaliformes: Somniosidae). Ichthyol. Res. 51:360-373. (Ref. 50224)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Data deficient (DD) 

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 6871)




Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
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Internet sources

BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishes of Iran | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5313   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00661 (0.00351 - 0.01243), b=3.08 (2.92 - 3.24), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  4.4   ±0.4 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec=300; assuming tm<=10).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (87 of 100) .