![]() ![]() Ghost sharks were not formally identified until 2002, when researchers classified and named the species based on several dozen carcasses accidentally pulled in by fishing trawlers. For that reason, these elusive sharks are sometimes known as "ghost sharks." Gliding through the dark ocean about a mile (1,640 m) deep, pointy-nosed blue ratfish ( Hydrolagus trolli) look like strange, silent phantoms. (Image credit: Copyright 2007 MBARI) (opens in new tab) This pointy-nosed blue chimaera was record by MBARI's remotely operated vehicle Tiburon near the summit of Davidson Seamount, off the coast of Central California at a depth of about 1 mile (1,640 meters). But at night, cookiecutter sharks sometimes travel toward the ocean surface to munch on large prey like other sharks and orcas. Most of their diet is made up of small, bottom-dwelling ocean animals that the sharks can swallow whole. These sharks occupy an unusual place in the food chain. (The victim, a long-distance swimmer, recovered.) These sharks are named for their jaws, which look like cookiecutters and allow the sharks to scoop globs of flesh from their prey. At least one took a couple of bites out of a person in an attack that occurred between the islands of Hawaii and Maui in 2011. Using their round, toothy jaws, these sharks sometimes nibble chunks off creatures much larger than themselves, including great white sharks, Live Science previously reported. (Image credit: Pally/Alamy Stock Photo) (opens in new tab)Ĭookiecutter sharks ( Isistius brasiliensis) aren't very big - they grow to only about 20 inches (50 centimeters) long - but they are very, very bitey. A cookiecutter shark swims beneath a bluntnose sixgill shark with a bite mark on it. ![]()
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