Bluntnose sixgill shark
Scientific name: Hexanchus griseus (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Overview
The bluntnose sixgill shark, often simply called the cow shark, is the largest hexanchoid shark, growing to 18 ft (5.5 m) in length. It is found in tropical and temperate waters worldwide. Its diet varies widely depending on the habitat.
From the Wikipedia article “Bluntnose sixgill shark”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Near threatened on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
Common names
Also known in English as Bluntnose six-gill shark, six-gilled shark, six-gill shark, sixgill shark.
Names in other languages (10)
- Chinese
- 六鰓沙, 灰六鰓鮫, 灰六鰓鯊, 灰六鳃鲨
- French
- griset, requin griset
- German
- Grauhai, Stumpfnasen-Sechskiemerhai
- Indonesian
- Hiu enam insang
- Japanese
- カグラザメ
- Persian
- کوسه ششآبششی پخبینی
- Portuguese
- Tubarão-albafar
- Russian
- Шестижаберная акула
- Spanish
- tiburón de seis branquias
- Turkish
- boz camgoz
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: FishBase.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q312293, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Bluntnose sixgill shark”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Operation Deep Scope 2005 Expedition: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration; Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Chris_huh, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026