A very unusual shark

Credit: My Blue World

• at 7.3 metres (24 feet) the second biggest carnivorous shark after the great white
• almost no dorsal fin
• prefers cold water, usually at great depth
• has been suggested as a candidate for the Lock Ness monster
• slow swimming – average 1 kph (0.76 mph) – 2.7 kph (1.7 mph) in a sprint
• flesh is poisonous, due to high levels of a chemical which appears to act as an anti-freeze
• estimates based on rates-of growth suggest they may live for 200 to 400 years, which make them among the longest-lived vertebrates
• there is some debate as to whether the Pacific sleeper shark & southern sleeper shark are the same, or closely related species



http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141028-the-mystery-shark-of-the-arctic

https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/GreenlandShark/GreenlandShark.html

http://www.wired.com/2014/02/creature-feature-10-fun-facts-greenland-shark/ / Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus gurry shark grey shark sleeper shark Inuit name Eqalussuaq second largest carnivorous shark deep Arctic waters thickset cylindrical body small head short snout tiny eyes slow moving giant water is frigid Greenland Iceland polar closely related coast Canada Portugal France Scotland Scandinavia widespead wide spread cold deep Aaron MacNeil Australian Institute of Marine Science Townsville Queensland Gulf of Mexico 2,600 metres 8,530 feet Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution Fort Pierce Florida deep sea 1,000 metres 3,280ft Gulf of Maine common liver oil lamp fuel industrial lubricant lubricatioin healthy population 120 hooks longline fairly common Aaron Fisk University of Windsor Ontario eat eating scientists stomach contents meals fish carrion small crustaceans amphipods dead bodies deep waters eat carrion almost blind Ommatokoita elongata crustacean sharks’ eyes damage damaging corneas parasites parasitic crustacean bioluminescent George Benz Middle Tennessee State University scientific literature contaminated unsubstantiated claims ambush predator Arctic seals polar bears ice holes breathe breathing circumstantial evidence stomach analyses discarded leftovers beluga whales shifting ice Baffin Island northern Canada Arctic food web Hákarl flesh meat is toxic fermented shark detoxified /