Pocket Shark

pocket shark, (genus Mollisquama), either of two species of enigmatic small deepwater sharks known for the presence of internal pockets located near their pectoral fins. Pocket sharks are known from only two specimens, collected in 1979 and 2010 from different marine environments. The pocket shark is most closely related to the kitefin sharks (Dalatias licha), another typically deepwater species classified within the family Dalatiidae. The cookie-cutter sharks (Isistius) and the pygmy shark (Euprotomicrus bispinatus), which are among the smallest shark species known, are probably the pocket shark’s best-known relatives.