The bramble shark (Echinorhinus brucus) is one of the two species of sharks in the family Echinorhinidae. Aside from the eastern Pacific Ocean, it is found in tropical and temperate waters worldwide. This rarely encountered shark swims close to the bottom of the seafloor, typically at depths of , though it may enter much shallower water. The bramble shark has a stout body with two small dorsal fins positioned far back and no anal fin. It can be readily identified by the large, thorn-like dermal denticles scattered over its body, some of which may be fused together. It is purplish brown or black in color and grows up to long. The diet of the bramble shark includes smaller sharks, bony fishes, and crabs, which this slow-moving species may capture via suction. It is aplacental viviparous, with females producing litters of 15–52 pups. Harmless to humans, it is an occasional bycatch of commercial and recreational fishers, and may be used for fishmeal and liver oil. Its population has declined substantially in the northeastern Atlantic since the 18th and 19th centuries, likely because of overfishing. Taxonomy The original description of the bramble shark was authored by French naturalist Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre in the 1788 Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique des trois regnes de la nature. He named it Squalus brucus, from the Greek brux or bruchios meaning "from the depths of the sea". The type specimen has since been lost. In 1816, Henri de Blainville created the genus Echinorhinus for this species. Until the 1960s, specimens of the prickly shark (E. cookei) caught in the Pacific Ocean were misidentified as bramble sharks. Other common names for this species are spinous shark and spiny shark. Description The bramble shark has a thick, cylindrical body and a somewhat flattened head. The snout is blunt and shorter than the width of the mouth, with widely spaced nostrils that are preceded by small flaps of skin. The eyes lack nictitating membranes; the tiny spiracles are located well behind them. The wide, curved mouth bears very short furrows at the corners. There are 20–26 upper and 22–26 lower tooth rows; each tooth is knife-like, with a single main cusp and up to three cusplets on either side. There are five pairs of gill slits, with the fifth pair the longest. The pectoral fins are short and angular, while the pelvic fins are long and relatively large. The dorsal