Diagnosis

A moderately small, slender shark with no anal fin and two spined dorsal fins of which the first is slightly taller and longer, with height and base length measuring 6.5 and 11% of TL; second dorsal moderately high and triangular; snout long, narrow and broadly pointed with large reflective green eyes and prominent spiracle behind; teeth small and bladelike with those in the lower jaw much larger than the uppers. Elongate and acutely-pointed inner tips of pectoral fins extend posterior to the anterior margin of the 1st dorsal fin. Lateral trunk denticles broad, rhomboidal and scallop-like without posterior cusps, widely-spaced, not overlapping. Colour mid greyish-brown  with a paler ventrum; slightly blue tint to dorsum when fresh; fins appear darker than the body (apices somewhat dusky in juveniles, especially tip of dorsal caudal lobe).

Size

Maximum ca. 90cm, possibly 100cm; size at birth 40 to 50cm.

Status and Distribution

N.E. Atlantic: Frequent or occasional. Southern Portugal and Spain adjacent to Mediterranean interface, southwards along the N.W. African coast to Senegal; distribution probably continuous through to Ivory Coast and into equatorial waters.
Mediterranean Sea: Frequent or occasional. A cosmopolitan range through Western Mediterranean waters to the Malta Channel and eastern interface of the Sicilian Channel with the Ionian Sea; also Tunisia and Libya. Scarce or perhaps absent further eastwards, but this shark may be readily confused with C. granulosus  in offshore fisheries.

Biology

A moderately common to locally abundant shark of deepwater, on or near the bottom at depths from 50 to 1400m but usually 500 to 1000m. These sharks are predators of a wide range of bony fishes including hake, jacks and lanternfishes; cephalopods (squid), crustaceans such as lobsters and shrimp, small squaloid sharks and tunicates. Ovoviviparous but reproductive biology is poorly-known; litter is usually one pup. Astonishingly, the young of this species are born at lengths between 40-50 cm TL from females not considerably larger than their offspring (75 - 100 cm TL); size at maturity uncertain.