The Greenland Shark or Somniosus microcephalus has many different names including Sleeper Shark, Gurry Shark, Ground Shark, Grey Shark, or Eqalussuaq, and even "The One". This shark lives in drown-right frigid waters, in fact they live the furthest north then any other shark on the planet! This species is often found at great depths in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. They have even been caught inland in Iceland! They are very large despite their small head. The Greenland Shark reaches lengths of about 6-1/2 meters and weigh in at up to 900kg! They even rival the Great White Shark in size! The dorsal and pectoral fins of the Greenland Shark are also small compared to its large body. They are normally brown, gray or black in color. These sharks can live up to 400 years old! This makes the Greenland Shark the longest living vertebrate animal in the world!
The Greenland Shark is a very lethargic creature, hence its nickname the Sleeper Shark. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be moving around too much either in temperatures of just 1-12 degrees Celsius! You can check out the Sleeper Shark in this amazing underwater footage below... If you have more information about the Greenland Shark that you would like to share or have a question about the shark please post it below in the comments...
1 comment:
Very interesting species! The video link you've provided is great.
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