How many frilled sharks are left in the world

Frilled Shark - Chlamydoselachus anguineus The frilled shark has teeth in 25 rows. Frilled Shark - Chlamydoselachus anguineus The frilled shark is among the slowest of shark species. Frilled Shark - Chlamydoselachus anguineus Rare video of the frill shark. Home Wild Files N. Chlamydoselachidae - frilled sharks There is one species in this family of sharks.

Environment As the EU targets emissions cuts, this country has a coal problem. Paid Content How Hong Kong protects its sea sanctuaries. History Magazine These 3,year-old giants watched over the cemeteries of Sardinia. Magazine How one image captures 21 hours of a volcanic eruption. Science Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants.

Science The controversial sale of 'Big John,' the world's largest Triceratops. Science Coronavirus Coverage How antivirals may change the course of the pandemic. Science Coronavirus Coverage U. Travel A road trip in Burgundy reveals far more than fine wine. Travel My Hometown In L. Travel The last artists crafting a Thai royal treasure. Subscriber Exclusive Content. Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars? How viruses shape our world.

The era of greyhound racing in the U. See how people have imagined life on Mars through history. The frilled shark's susceptibility to bycatch led the IUCN to list the species as "Near Threatened" back in , and this threatened status has been widely cited since the Portugal sighting. However, a more recent evaluation showed that the animal's preferred habitat — up to 1, metres 4,ft beneath the surface — puts it beyond the reach of trawl fishermen, due to trawling depth restrictions in many countries across its range Australia and New Zealand, for example.

For this reason, the frilled shark has been re-listed as a species of "Least Concern". What is true is that frilled sharks are only rarely seen alive in their natural habitat, and the recent sighting is no exception, despite reports that the animal was "found swimming".

According to Dr Margarida Castro , a professor and researcher at the Centre for Marine Sciences at Portugal's University of Algarve, the shark wasn't alive when it was pulled from the trawl net. It was during one of the project's test trawls that the frilled shark was found. Very little is known about the creature's ecology, but we're slowly starting to understand its place within the food web. Scientists used to think these animals were too slow to capture quick prey, but a study in Japan's Suruga Bay showed that the sharks like to dine on both squid and bony fishes.

Behind the animal's eerie "grin" lurk trident-shaped teeth, laid out in about 25 rows. It's clearly a very apt predator. Ebert described a second frill-shark species Chlamydoselachus africana back in , and has acquired some firsthand experience literally! The teeth are so effective, in fact, that a frilled shark is able to hunt prey as large as half its own body length.

And unlike many deep-sea animals such as the flabby "sofa shark" , frilled sharks are quite muscular. Scientists suspect they may be able to lunge-strike, a move similar to what you'd expect from a terrestrial serpent. What's more, according to Ebert, the bright white colouration of the teeth may help lure in their food against the dark backdrop of the deep sea. Back in , Shark Week featured a clip of a free-swimming frilled shark during their programme "Alien Sharks", showing the unique teeth in stunning detail:.

The footage is one of a kind, and it will likely be some time before another clip emerges to surpass it. That's because frilled sharks almost never venture into waters shallower than 20 metres. And when they do, it's usually a sign that something is very wrong with the animal.

Japan's Awashima Marine Park attempted to house a frilled shark in after it was found lumbering through a nearshore bay.