Unusual and substantiated records of Heptranchias perlo (Chondrichthyes: Hexanchidae) in the N-E Tunisian Waters (Central Mediterranean Sea)

Abstract

The present paper report unusual and additional records of sharpnose sevengill shark Heptranchias perlo (Bonnaterre, 1788) from the northeastern Tunisian waters. Four specimens were collected in the Gulf of Tunis and two specimens off Bizerte. The specimens were measured for total length and weighed. The specimens from Bizerte were described in the present paper including morphometric measurements and tooth counts. These captures were carried out at lower depth that it was usually the case and showed that the specimens migrated southward, where a viable population is probably established.