Oxynotidae

Japanese roughshark

Oxynotus japonicus

Narrow upper teeth meet one lower blade row

• Northern Hemisphere
• Regional distribution
• Marine fish
• Pacific Ocean
• East Asia
• Large

The Japanese roughshark (Oxynotus japonicus) is a rare species of shark in the family Oxynotidae, known only from a handful of specimens recovered from Suruga Bay and the Enshunada Sea off Japan. It is a benthic species that occurs at a depth of 150–350 m (490–1,150 ft). This shark is caught (and discarded) as bycatch by bottom trawlers throughout its entire limited range, and may be threatened given the declines in other bottom deep sea species in Suruga Bay.