Author: Compagno, 1973
Diagnostic Features:
Trunk cylindrical and slender. Head short, much shorter than trunk; snout moderately long, pointed and bulbously conical, not greatly elongated, flattened and bladelike; eyes very large; mouth large, ventral on head; gill openings long, extending onto dorsal surface of head, all in front of pectoral fin bases; no gillrakers on internal gill slits; teeth large, the anteriors narrow and awl-like, the laterals more compressed and blade-like, with less than 30 rows in either jaw; two rows of anterior teeth on each side of upper and lower jaws, the uppers separated form the upper lateral teeth by a row of small intermediate teeth. First dorsal fin small, low, and angular, second dorsal smaller than first but larger than anal fin; second dorsal with a broad, nonpivoting base but anal fin pivotable; pectoral fins small, short and broad, much shorter than head in adults; pelvic fins large, somewhat smaller than pectoral and first dorsal fins; caudal fin not lunate, upper lobe moderately long but less than half as long as rest of shark, lower lobe, short but strong; precaudal pits present, caudal peduncle slightly depressed and with low lateral keels.
Remarks:
The single living species in this family was formerly placed in the family Odontaspididae and genus Odontaspis or Carcharias, but anatomical work by the writer has shown that this species is very distinct and rates a separate family, Pseudocarchariidae. Characters of the family are presented and discussed in Compagno (1973c, 1977, 1982).