Megamouth Shark

Interesting Info

• The megamouth shark is a rare species of deep-water shark found in the waters off Western Australia. It is typically found in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans.
• They have a large, roundish body shape with a bulbous head that accounts for about one-third of its total body length. Its skin is dark grey to black on the dorsal side, with a wide, fleshy mouth lined with small, hooked teeth.
• The megamouth is a filter feeders and have a wide, fleshy mouth lined with hundreds of tiny teeth used to filter small organisms from the water.
• These sharks are slow swimmers and have a relatively small caudal fin (tail) compared to other sharks.
• The megamouth shark has bioluminescent organs in its mouth that attract prey, similar to other deep-sea organisms.
• Megamouth sharks are oviparous, but due to their rarity and deep-sea habitat, little is known about their reproductive behaviour. It is believed that megamouth sharks have a slow reproductive rate, with females giving birth to relatively small litters of one or two pups every few years.
• The gestation period and age of sexual maturity of megamouth sharks are unknown, but they are thought to have a long lifespan of up to 100 years.