After a large-scaled saber shark was caught in Ireland recently by an amateur fisherman, many local residents became seriously worried and began to look for detailed information about this fish. But most of all people were interested in whether it constitutes a danger to humanity.
What do six-branch sharks look like?
Often the six-gill shark is jokingly called a “dinosaur” or “fat cow” because of its appearance and slowness. She is able to slowly dive to great depths and looks pretty 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. Typically, 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 completely composed of cartilage. It is noteworthy, but the six-gill shark does not have a fin on its back - it is located closer to the tail. Its rounded pectoral fins help maintain balance; fish is accelerated by tail movement. A distinctive feature of the species is the number of gill covers - they are one more (6, not 5) than other sharks. This is probably directly related to adaptation mechanisms, since the fish filters a much larger amount of oxygen from the water.
Also, a giant six-branch shark is able to draw its small green eyes into the head. She sees the environment in black and white. On the back, the color of the shark is white-brown, and her belly is snow-white. Some individuals have a whitish stripe on the side of the body. In the mouth of multi-gill sharks, sharp teeth are located in several rows (4 rows of mini-blades on top and 2 on the bottom). The smallest fish signals are captured using detectors located inside the head. In addition, on its lower part there are hypersensitive nostrils.
Shark habitat
The large six-footed shark is common in:
- The 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 live-bearing fish prefers temperate and tropical waters. Adult individuals are able to sink several thousand meters, and closer to the night rise to the surface.
Six-Shark Nutrition
Mostly the six-footed shark eats fish (flounder, herring, pike, hake), crustaceans (squid, crabs), stingrays, and sometimes even eats its relatives. Do not disdain carrion. Also known are cases where sharks attacked marine animals such as seals. Her teeth can capture a wide variety of foods. Sharks specifically for hunting rise to the surface of the water.
Shark lifestyle, breeding and care for offspring
Representatives of the species of six-footed sharks live alone and are ovoviviparous. The period of puberty begins when the shark reaches 200 cm in length. After the fertilization process, embryos develop in the body of the female - one individual is able to give birth to 100 cubs with a length of 70 cm or more. Moreover, from the moment of birth, the offspring live independently in shallow water, without the care and protection of adult fish. Despite these harsh conditions, a rather high percentage of survival is observed among sharks.
Danger to humans
Despite its formidable and terrifying appearance, the gray six-gill shark poses no danger to humans. Moreover, when meeting with him, the predator prefers to swim to the depths. However, there is a known case when an enormous size individual attacked a 24-year-old diver Stephen Foggarti, who sank 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 the timely assistance.
It is worth noting that this year a six-gill shark was caught in Ireland. Her approximate weight was at least 680 kg with a body length of up to 7.5 meters. Experts saw the predator only in the photographs provided - they failed to weigh it. This is the largest shark caught in Europe for fishing rod. So, the 26-year-old Englishman Ben Bond (an amateur angler with experience) could not raise his prey to the surface for more than an hour, after which he photographed it, removed it from the hook and carefully released it.
“I was not afraid while pulling it out. Then I even managed to look inside her huge jaws, ”said Bond.
Fisheries officials in Ireland recalled that fishing in this way is legal fishing. Sport fishing, when the catch is not killed, but released into the wild, is allowed in the country.
Scientists recall that six-gill sharks are the oldest members of the family among those living. They appeared about 200 million years ago. Also popularly, such multi-gill sharks are often called cow or mud sharks.