 Most specimens of the viper dogfish have been collected from a relatively small area of the northwestern Pacific Ocean off the Kii Peninsula in Japan . A number of specimens were also recovered from the stomachs of predatory fishes caught in the Bonin Islands . One specimen was caught from the Hancock Seamount , located some 300 km ( 190 mi ) northwest of Kure Atoll in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands . During the day , this species has been caught close to the bottom on the upper reaches of continental slopes and seamounts , at depths of 270 – 360 m ( 890 – 1 @,@ 180 ft ) . At night , it has been caught between the surface and a depth of 150 m ( 490 ft ) in water over 1 @.@ 5 km ( 0 @.@ 93 mi ) deep . This pattern suggests the viper dogfish performs a diel vertical migration , spending the day in deeper water and rising towards the surface at night ; such daily movement may relate to feeding . 
