VERY INTERESTING: COOKIE CUTTER SHARK

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Amazing Facts About The Cookiecutter Shark

The cookiecutter shark, also referred to as the cigar shark, is a fascinating creature with unique biological features and a penchant for large prey. Here are 10 interesting facts about your new favorite shark!

1. They take cookie-shaped bites!

The cookiecutter shark gets its name from the cookie-shaped bite wounds it leaves on its prey. The shark’s unique teeth and short, coned snout create these round chunks. It will attach itself to a tuna, marlin, stingray, another shark, or even a whale, by suctioning its lips to the body of the animal. Then, the shark spins its body, using it’s lower set of serrated teeth like a can opener to remove a hunk of flesh, resulting in a wound that lives up to the shark’s name.

2. And speaking of names… they’ve had 3!

They’ve had three scientific names, that is. When the shark was discovered in 1824, it was named Tristius brasiliensis, followed by Scymnus brasiliensis, and, finally, its current name, Isistius brasiliensis. It gets its genus name from Isis, the Egyptian goddess of light. And the species name references one of the places it can be found, off the coast of Brazil.

3. They glow!

Cookiecutter sharks are dark brown to black on the upper side of their body, which is know as the dorsal side; and a lighter brown on the lower side, known as the ventral side. Their gill regions have a dark collar around them. The whole ventral surface, minus this dark collar, is covered in a dense network of tiny photophores. These emit a greenish glow called bioluminescence.

4. They keep glowing!

Researchers have observed this glow to last as long as three hours after the shark’s death!

5. They are sneaky predators by design!

Not only does the emitted glow attract fish, but also the dark patch on the shark’s ventral surface resembles a smaller fish when viewed from below. This marking is believed to lure larger fish and other potential prey that may be swimming underneath it.

6. They lose all of their teeth at once!

Unlike other sharks that shed teeth one a time, the cookiecutter shark loses all of their teeth in a single shedding. It even swallows the bottom row. All 25 to 31 of them! It is believed that this is to provide calcium to the body. Cookiecutters also have 30 to 37 smaller upper teeth.

7. They are deep-water creatures!

You are not likely to see the cookiecutter shark in shallow alcoves. They are often found swimming in depths below 3,281 feet (1000 meters), and have even been discovered at 3.7 km (2.3 miles) deep. They stick to the warm, tropical areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, primarily near coastal islands where food is more plentiful.

8. They are ovoviviparous!

This means that shark pups hatch from eggs inside the mother’s uterus and then are birthed. It takes between 12-22 months for these eggs to hatch, and a mother will typically birth 6-12 pups per litter. The pups come out fully developed and able to hunt for food by themselves.

9. They are small, but mighty!

The male cookiecutter grows to a maximum of 16.5 inches (41.91 centimeters), while females grow to 22 inches (55.88 centimeters). Despite its size, it often targets larger prey, including whales and seals. It is not known to attack humans, though, and there is only one reported case of a cookiecutter bite on a human in recent recorded history.

10. Oily livers = floating through waters with ease!

The cookiecutter shark’s elongated body cavity is filled with an enormous, oily liver. In fact, the liver accounts for approximately 35% of its total body weight! The low-density oils in the liver means that this shark has relatively neutral buoyancy, allowing for easy movement through a wide range of depths with minimal energy loss. In other words, it can stop swimming and it won’t sink

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking