Not just a huge collection of Shark Pictures: Elasmodiver.com contains images of sharks, skates, rays, and a few chimaera's from around the world. Elasmodiver began as a simple web based shark field guide to help divers find the best places to encounter the different species of sharks and rays that live in shallow water but it has slowly evolved into a much larger project containing information on all aspects of shark diving and shark photography.

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Shark picture - green sawfish

BLUNTNOSE SIXGILL SHARK

View all available Bluntnose Sixgill Shark Pictures in the Shark Pictures Database

Common Names: Sixgill shark, Sixgilled shark, Bluntnose sixgill shark, Cow shark.

Latin Name: Hexanchus griseus

Family: Hexanchidae

Identification: Six gill slits. Single dorsal fin position set well back above anal fin. Heavy set body. Round pupils reflect a luminous green.

Size: 4.8m maximum. Possibly exceeding 1500lb.

Habitat: Temperate and tropical seas. Usually at great depth (down to 2000m) but occasionally encountered on shallow shelves close to deeper water.

Abundance and distribution: Found worldwide but seldom encountered outside of Pacific Northwest North America.

Behavior: Habits little known. Aiden Martin reports to have seen one individual stalking a lingcod from below a shelf until it rose up and pinned the fish from behind onto the reef and devoured it.

Reproduction:

Observations: I have witnessed this shark approaching divers from behind apparently out of curiosity as no aggressive behaviour has been observed.

Photographs: Henderson Point, Saanich Inlet, Vancouver Island, Canada.

Similar species:

Reaction to divers: A slow moving species that rarely reacts aggressively to divers but will swim away when closely approached. Baited encounters at the Seattle Aquarium report that in these situations the Bluntnose sixgill changes into a lightning fast predator.

Diving logistics: The sixgill is a difficult shark to encounter outside of the Pacific Northwest as it remains at great depth. From Washington State up to Northern Vancouver Island it can be encountered mainly in the summer months. Hornby Island in the Straits of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland is the place best known for encounters but many divers return frustrated by this illusive shark. Another good spot for encounters is the fiord north of Victoria known as the Saanich Inlet. On the west side of the Saanich Peninsula are 3 well known entry points that each are responsible for Sixgill sightings. Amongst these Henderson Point has probably seen the most sharks with 15 or more sightings occurring during the summer of 2004. Shore diving information and air can be had from various dive shops around Victoria including Ogden Point Dive Centre located at the Breakwater close to town.

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