Pygmy shark
| Pygmy shark | |
|---|---|
| Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Selachii |
| Order: | Squaliformes |
| Family: | Dalatiidae |
| Genus: | Euprotomicrus T. N. Gill, 1865 |
| Species: | E. bispinatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Euprotomicrus bispinatus | |
| Range of pygmy shark (in blue) | |
The pygmy shark (Euprotomicrus bispinatus), the second-smallest of all the shark species after the dwarf lanternshark, is a squaliform shark of the family Dalatiidae, the only member of the genus 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 and produce about eight young in each litter.