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Frilled Shark

Chlamydoselachus anguineus

Average Size – 5.5 to 6.5ft

Frilled Sharks, also called a Living Fossil, have an eel-like body with a long head and short gill slits. They are typically found to be dark brown or grey. There aren’t too many extant sharks that look as prehistoric as this fringed and primitive shark.

Simply put, they can be found in the deep sea and open ocean water across all oceans.

Their diet leads us to come to some other conclusions. Because they eat fish, cephalapods. and even other sharks, and they are also known to live close to the ocean floor, it is believed that their habitat isn’t simply just “Deep-Sea.” They are likely to practice what is called, “diel vertical migration” which refers to the idea of ascending to the ocean surface at night to feed.

Smaller Sharks, Bony Fish, and Cephalopods.

They are active predators and may lunge at prey.

Scientists believe they tend to hunt with their mouths open.

They are rarely encountered in the wild so little is known about this species.

Because of their natural rarity and being occasionally caught by fisheries, they are considered endangered.

Oceana has some more great info on Frilled Sharks!

Frilled Shark Graphic
Frilled Shark Clickable
By © Citron, CC BY-SA 3.0
By © Citron, CC BY-SA 3.0
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