Somniosus Lesueur, 1818
Snout in front of mouth no longer than distance from mouth to level of first gill-slit; pre-oral clefts absent. Teeth in both jaws with single cusps; those of upper jaw narrow and awl-like; those of lower jaw broad, with smooth edges and quadrate bases. Lips smooth, without cross-folds or fringes. Pectoral fins with inner corners broadly rounded; dorsal fins without spines, origin of first dorsal fin nearer to hind edge of pectoral fins than to origin of pelvic fins; second dorsal fin similar to first, its base equal to it or shorter; caudal peduncle without pre-caudal pits, with or without faint lateral ridges; caudal fin with a sub-terminal notch. Dermal denticles on sides of body conical to thorn-like and curved posteriorly.
Species 3-6; in Clofnam area 2.
Recent revisions: Bigelow and Schroeder (1957), Bass, D'Aubrey and Kistnasamy (1976).
Species of this genus in the program:
Somniosus microcephalus
Somniosus rostratus