Hexanchus Vitulus, a New Sixgill Shark from the Bahamas

Examination of a larger number of sixgill sharks (family Hexanchidae) from the coasts of North America than have hitherto been available shows that two well-differentiated species occur in the western North Atlantic. The larger of the two Atlantic species, Hexanchus griseus, has been taken rarely in the western North Atlantic where it is known only from specimens 2.90 meters or more in length. The smaller Atlantic species, Hexanchus vitulus, is described and illustrated from types collected off Bimini, Bahamas. The small species becomes sexually mature at about 1.40 to 1.75 meters and apparently does not reach a much greater length.