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MEGAMOUTH SHARK FACTS |
Description
A large shark with a rounded, bulbous head and short nose. The terminal mouth is wide with many tiny, sharp, hooked teeth. The body fins are relatively small with the pectoral fins being the longest. The tail has a much longer upper lobe (heterocercal). The colour is plain dark grey to blue-black, paler ventrally.
Little is known of the biology of this rare shark. Only one Australian specimen has been recorded; it was washed ashore in Mandurah in 1988. To date only 50 specimens have been recorded world-wide. It is known to feed on plankton, including shrimps and sea jellies, and is thought to rise to the surface at night to feed. The upper jaw and palate are iridescent and it is speculated that when the shark opens its huge mouth, the glowing palate attracts prey. Reproduction is thought to be oophagous, in which the embryo feeds on unfertilised eggs in the uterus.
Author credit: Sue Morrison / Western Australian Museum
Habitat
Oceanic, possibly at depths between 150 and 1000 metres.
Food
Plankton or particles
Range
Western Australia
Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Classification
| Class: | Chondrichthyes | | Order: | Lamniformes | | Family: | Megachasmidae | | Genus: | Megachasma | | Species: | pelagios | | Common Name: | Megamouth Shark |
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