Author: Jordan, 1898
Mitsukurina owstoni Jordan, 1898
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Mitsukurina owstoni Jordan, 1898 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body soft and flabby; snout visor-like, very elongate and flat; jaws widely protrusible; eyes very small. Anal fin much larger than dorsal fins. Colour: body light or pinkish-grey, fins and gill area darker. Size: males to 3.2 m, females to 3.35 m TL.
Habitat: benthic on outer continental or insular shelves and slopes, from 100 to 700 m. Food: fishes, squids and crustaceans. Reproduction: probably ovoviviparous; males mature at 2.6 m TL.
Distribution: eastern Atlantic, from Madeira and Portugal to Gulf of Biscay. Elsewhere, in the Atlantic off Senegal, the Gulf of Guinea, the Cape of Good Hope; also, French Guiana and the western Indian Ocean off South Africa and in the western Pacific off Japan and Australia.