Elusive Sleeper Shark Seen Off Antartica In A First

Elusive sleeper shark seen disconnected Antartica successful a first

Scientists person captured footage of a sleeper shark farther southbound than ever before, suggesting this Antarctic water is not shark-free

By Jeanna Bryner edited by Claire Cameron

Researchers astatine nan Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre watch footage of what is apt a confederate sleeper shark swimming into position disconnected Antarctica's South Shetland Islands.

Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre

A uncommon brushwood pinch a confederate sleeper shark successful nan deep, chilly waters of Antarctica’s Southern Ocean has scientists reimagining what animals mightiness unrecorded successful specified a harsh, utmost environment.

Footage of nan shark was captured successful January 2025 by a baited deep-sea camera successful a trench astatine astir 490 meters beneath nan oversea aboveground disconnected nan South Shetland Islands. The camera was group by nan Minderoo–University of Western Australia (UWA) Deep-Sea Research Center.

During nan shark’s astonishment appearance, marine geoscientist and halfway personnel Heather Stewart tin beryllium heard asking, “What is that that sneaks connected successful nan background?”

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“That was surely very unexpected,” Stewart said. This is nan astir southerly study of a confederate sleeper shark (Somniosus antarcticus), according to nan researchers astatine nan center.

These deep-sea predators, which past connected a fare of cephalopods, ray-finned fish, and moreover immoderate mammals and birds, tin unrecorded for 250 to 300 years, according to nan center. The Associated Press reported that this individual spanned betwixt 3 and 4 meters successful length.

The shark is thought to beryllium a female because of nan animal’s deficiency of claspers—a brace of appendages recovered connected antheral sharks—and was gracefully swimming astir successful an astir two-degree-Celsius subsurface furniture of water. This comparatively little frigid corridor could let specified sharks to push farther southbound and into colder climes than scientists thought.

Southern sleeper sharks’ deep-sea residence makes them tricky to study, and location person been conscionable a fewer sightings of nan species.

“It’s beautiful uncommon to spot these animals conscionable because nan extent they unrecorded at. These animals person benignant of evolved to beryllium rather long-lived and, for illustration a batch of heavy animals, person really slow metabolisms, truthful they tin spell a agelong clip without eating,” said Dylan White-Kiely, a investigation adjunct astatine nan Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Center, successful nan aforesaid video.

Finding this shark truthful acold southbound indicates she mightiness not beryllium unsocial successful nan lonely Antarctic waters. “This changes what we cognize astir shark distribution and their expertise to tolerate utmost environments,” nan researchers said successful a statement. “The Southern Ocean mightiness not beryllium arsenic shark-free arsenic we erstwhile thought.”