The localization of a sauvagine (SV)/urotensin I (UI)-like material in the brain of the dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula, was studied by immunohistochemical techniques, employing an antiserum raised in rabbit against synthetic SV which widely cross-reacts with UI. Positive cell bodies and nerve fibers were identified in the dorsocaudal hypothalamic region of the tuberculum posterius, in the nucleus sacci vasculosi and nucleus tuberculi posterioris. A dense network of immunoreactive axons was shown in the whole tuberculum posterius. These findings support the view that SV/UI-like peptides may be involved in neuromodulatory functions throughout the brain of cartilaginous fish.