Facts about Frilled Shark
- 09
Primitive gill structures with 300 teeth rows suggest frilled sharks diverged from modern sharks over 80 million years ago, earning them comparison to Cretaceous-era predecessors.
- 08
Scientists first formally described the frilled shark in 1884 after specimens were captured near Japan, though the species remained poorly understood until deep-sea research accelerated in recent decades.
- 07
Ovoviviparous reproduction in frilled sharks involves eggs that hatch internally, with embryos developing inside the mother for an unusually extended gestation period of approximately 3.5 years.
- 06
Frilled sharks possess a highly flexible jaw that can unhinge to swallow prey nearly as large as their own body, an adaptation for capturing occasional large meals in the deep sea.
- 05
At roughly 5.5 feet long, the frilled shark is a relatively small deep-sea predator compared to other shark species, with an eel-like body adapted for navigating narrow ocean trenches.
- 04
Deep-sea expeditions have recorded frilled sharks at depths exceeding 4,000 feet, making them among the deepest-dwelling sharks ever documented by marine researchers.
- 03
Females of this species produce only four to twelve live pups per pregnancy, making frilled sharks among the slowest-reproducing sharks known to marine biologists.
- 02
Living fossils, frilled sharks can survive up to 22 years without eating, relying on extremely slow metabolic rates in the deep sea.
- 01
The frilled shark possesses 300 teeth arranged in 25 rows, allowing it to grasp slippery prey like squid in the deep ocean.