These sharks have a huge liver that covers 35% of their weight, letting them stay buoyant, reducing the need to swim constantly.It accomplishes this through the photophores present in their ventral regions. Cookie-cutter sharks have green bioluminescence, stronger than any other known shark, helping to disguise themselves.The tiny, upright upper teeth, and sharp lower teeth forming a saw-like cutting edge, help these sharks tear onto the flesh with ease.Their fleshy lips are large and suctorial, allowing them to attach themselves to their prey.Some of the creatures that prey on them include other sharks and bony fish. Eric Schall, one of the victims, was severely wounded in his stomach. In 2019, these sharks reportedly attacked three swimmers on separate occasions while they tried to cross the Kaiwi channel. They then use their lower teeth to extract flesh, 2 inches wide and 7 inches deep, which they hold in place with their upper jaw, leaving behind a circular wound in their victims.Ĭookie-cutter sharks are generally not deadly to humans due to their small size, but there have been several biting incidences. The sharks attach themselves to their prey with the help of their lips. They swallow teeth that they lose to raise their calcium levels and maintain the development of new teeth.Ĭookie cutters have a unique biting technique that helps them acquire food.The cookie-cutter shark follows diel vertical migration, staying deep underwater below 1000m during the day and coming closer to the surface at about 300m at night.However, while foraging they have been observed travelling in schools. These sharks are solitary, only meeting their fellowmates during the breeding season.And, the epaulette’s spotted pattern also may break up its body outline, helping it to hide.Their exact lifespan remains unrecorded yet, but they may live up to 25 years as per estimations. To help them watch for danger, their eyes are located closer to the tops of their heads, much like stingrays, flounder and other fish that rest on the sea floor. At less than 31/2 feet long, epaulettes can become an easy meal for larger sharks. This ability lets them walk across the reef out of the water, continuing to search for food until the tide rises to swimming level again.īack under the sea, trouble can find our skilled reef hunters. Epaulette sharks are specially adapted to power down their bodies and parts of their brains so they need less oxygen. They hang out in tide pools and other shallow areas, sniffing about for worms, crustaceans and other boneless snacks.ĭinnertime doesn’t end when the tide goes out. They have large, black spots ringed with white on their sides above the paddle fins. Biologists think that the light pattern may make the cookie cutter look like an even smaller fish.Įpaulettes belong to a family of carpet sharks that like to swim and “walk” along the bottom using flexible fins shaped like paddles. Viewed from below, the cookie cutter shows off a spotty pattern of glowing green light on its underside. It has big green eyes and a chocolate-colored body shaped like a hot dog. Less than 2 feet long, the cookie cutter shark appears harmless enough from above. Some of the largest animals in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans occasionally come across a nightmare in the form of a shark no bigger than a wiener dog. Sixgill moms give birth to 20 to 100 pups at a time. One finding is that sixgills like to travel in small groups of their brothers and sisters. Using satellite tags and special marks on the sharks’ bodies, researchers can tell the sharks apart and follow their movements in the Sound. A local research team - based at Seattle Aquarium with support from NOAA, University of Washington, state Department of Fish and Wildlife and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium - is studying the sixgill shark.
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