Southern Sleeper Shark Captured Off Antarctica, Redrawing Cold-Water Boundaries
TL;DR
Scientists using an undersea camera recorded the first footage of a southern sleeper shark in Antarctic waters near the South Shetland Islands at about 1,600 feet depth and 2°C. The sighting challenges the assumption that Antarctic seas are too cold for sharks and suggests a warm deeper layer may enable occasional southward incursions; climate-change–related warming could drive more sharks toward the region, but data remain sparse, underscoring the need for further study of the Antarctic ecosystem.
- Sharks Have Officially Reached Antarctica, and Scientists Are Shook Gizmodo
- Shark caught on camera for first time in Antarctica’s deep waters CNN
- Researchers Capture the First-Ever Footage of a Shark in Antarctica PetaPixel
- Elusive sleeper shark seen off Antarctica in a first Scientific American
- Antarctica’s First Shark Caught On Camera - And Why It Matters Forbes
Want the full story? Read the original reporting
Read on Gizmodo