THE FRILLED SHARK

This prehistoric-looking shark, deemed a living fossil, lives in the open ocean and spends much of its time in deep, dark waters far below the sea surface. Its long, cylindrical body reaches lengths of nearly 2 metres, and its fins are placed far back on the body. The frilled shark gets its name from the frilly

appearance of its gill slits.

Frilled sharks are active predators and may lunge at potential prey, swallowing it whole, even if it is quite large. Their normal

swimming style, however, is distinctly eel-like, as they swim in a serpentine fashion. The preferred prey of the frilled shark

is squid, and they have several rows of long teeth, each with three long points, that are perfect for snagging the soft bodies of this prey. Though they specialise on squids, frilled sharks are

known to eat a variety of fishes and also other sharks. They are hermaphrodites, meaning that that have both ovarian and testicular tissues in their reproductive organs, giving them a

survival advantage in the sparsely populated deep ocean.