The pygmy shark (''Euprotomicrus bispinatus''), the second-smallest of all the shark species after the

dwarf lanternshark The dwarf lanternshark (''Etmopterus perryi'') is a species of dogfish shark in the family Etmopteridae and is the smallest shark in the world, reaching a maximum known length of . It is known to be present only on the upper continental slopes of ...

, is a squaliform shark of the family

Dalatiidae The Dalatiidae are the family of kitefin sharks of the order Squaliformes (the term "kitefin shark" also refers specifically to the species '' Dalatias licha''). Members of this family are small, under long, and are found worldwide. They have c ...

, the only member of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Euprotomicrus''. Their lengths are up to about 25 cm (10 in) for females and about 22 cm (8.7 in) for males. Pygmy sharks are

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparity, oviparous and live-bearing viviparity, viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develo ...

and produce about eight young in each litter.

Conservation status

In June 2018 the New Zealand

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

classified the pygmy shark as "Not Threatened" with the qualifier "Secure Overseas" under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pygmy shark Dalatiidae Taxa named by Jean René Constant Quoy Taxa named by Joseph Paul Gaimard Fish described in 1824