Sixgill shark: habitat, appearance, danger to humans

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

After a huge sixgill shark was recently caught by an amateur fisherman in Ireland, many locals became seriously worried and began to look for detailed information about this fish. But most of all, people were interested in whether it is a danger to humanity.

What sixgill sharks look like

The sixgill shark is often jokingly referred to as "dinosaur" or "fat cow" because of its appearance and slowness. She is able to slowly dive to great depths and looks quite intimidating.

The average body length of one adult is at least 3-5 meters, but there are cases when it was possible to catch a shark up to 7 meters long. Usually females are slightly larger than males and weigh about 400 kg. The body of the shark is torpedo-shaped, the head is large, and the skeleton is entirely made of cartilage. Remarkably, the sixgill shark does not have a fin on its back - it is located closer to the tail. Its rounded pectoral fins help maintain balance, acceleratefish by moving its tail. A distinctive feature of the species is the number of gill covers - there are one more of them (6, not 5) than other sharks. This is probably directly related to adaptation mechanisms, as fish filter much more oxygen out of the water.

Also, the giant sixgill shark is able to retract its small green eyes into its head. She sees her surroundings in black and white. On the back, the color of the shark is white-brown, and its belly is snow-white. Some individuals are distinguished by a whitish stripe on the side of the body. In the mouth of multigill sharks there are sharp teeth in several rows (4 rows of mini-blades on top and 2 on the bottom). The slightest signals of the fish are picked up by detectors located inside the head. In addition, it has ultra-sensitive nostrils on the bottom.

Shark habitat

The great sixgill shark is common in:

• Atlantic Ocean (north of Iceland);
• Mediterranean Sea (off the coast of Chile);
• Pacific Ocean (northern hemisphere - off the coast of the USA, Mexico, Australia, California, Vancouver, Taiwan, Sumatra);
• Indian Ocean (South Africa).

This viviparous fish prefers temperate and tropical waters. Adults are able to dive several thousand meters, and rise to the surface closer to the night.

Eating sixgill sharks

The sixgill shark mainly feeds on fish (flounder, herring, pike, hake), crustaceans (squid, crabs), rays, and sometimescompletely eats its relatives. Does not disdain carrion. There are also cases when sharks attacked marine animals such as seals. Her teeth can capture a wide variety of food. Sharks rise to the surface of the water especially for hunting.

Shark lifestyle, reproduction and care of offspring

Representatives of the species of sixgill sharks live alone and are ovoviviparous. The period of puberty occurs when the shark reaches 200 cm in length. After the fertilization process, the embryos develop in the body of the female - one individual is able to give birth to up to 100 cubs with a length of 70 cm or more. At the same time, from the moment they are born, the offspring live independently in shallow water, without care and protection from adult fish. Despite such harsh conditions, there is a fairly high survival rate among sharks.

Danger to humans

Despite its formidable and intimidating appearance, the gray sixgill shark does not pose any danger to humans. Moreover, when meeting with him, the predator prefers to swim to the depths. However, a case is known when a huge specimen attacked 24-year-old diver Stephen Foggarty, who dived to the bottom of Lake Illawarra, located in Australia. Then the shark bit the man's right leg, and he managed to survive only thanks to timely assistance.

It is worth noting that this year a sixgill shark was caught in Ireland. Her approximate weight was at least 680 kg with a body length of up to 7.5meters. Experts saw the predator only in the photographs provided - they were unable to weigh it. This is the largest shark caught in Europe with a bait. So, 26-year-old Englishman Ben Bond (an experienced amateur fisherman) could not raise his prey to the surface for more than an hour, after which he photographed it, took it off the hook and carefully released it.

I wasn't afraid as I pulled it out. I even managed to look inside her huge jaws later,” Bond said.

Fisheries officials in Ireland reminded that fishing in this way is a legal trade. Sport fishing, when the catch is not killed, but released into the wild, is allowed in the country.

Scientists remind that sixgill sharks are the oldest living members of the family. They appeared about 200 million years ago. Also popularly, such multigill sharks are often called cow sharks or mud sharks.