Dalatias licha, a deepwater shark, appears to be rare in the Maldives; the set of jaws on which this record is based was taken by a fisherman on L. Isdhoo, and this species was previously classified under the family Squalidae.
This species is found in both continental and island shelves, ranging from 37 to 1800 meters deep, usually below 200 meters. Its diet consists mainly of deep-water bony fishes, crustaceans, and cephalopods. It reproduces through ovoviviparity, with litters of 10 to 16 offspring.
distinctive characters
There is no spine on the dorsal fin, the first dorsal fin is closer to the pectorals than the pelvics, and the second dorsal fin is slightly larger than the first. The lips are very thick and fringed with pleats and grooves, the upper teeth are small and needle-like without cusplets, and the lower teeth are broad and overlapping with singular triangular serrated cusps.