Bowhead shark: description, features and interesting facts

Bowhead shark — the largest representative katrineberg belonging to the genus of Somniosidae. Refers to cartilaginous fishes, which is not yet widely studied.

Habitat

This is the cold-water shark of all members of the family, preferring a water temperature range from 1 to 12 °C. the Area selachii covers the North Atlantic ocean, Arctic ocean, and includes the Scandinavian countries, USA, Canada, Russia, Iceland and Germany. Polar Greenland shark (somniosus microcephalus) lives in a large vertical interval – from continental and insular shelf to 2000 m and more. Summer is often found at a depth of 200–500 m, and winter-closer to the surface. She Diel and seasonal migration, which is determined by the movement of plankton and small animals that make up its diet.

Appearance

The Bowhead shark is in sixth place in size, after a white, reaching 8 meters in length and weight up to two tons. But the average size of individuals is 4 m, and weight-800 kg.

Her Body has a streamlined torpedoobrazna form. The head is small in magnitude relative to the entire ink. The mouth of the predator is on the bottom. Jaws broad and unwieldy. The bottom is littered with blunt square teeth, and the top – rare acute. Height and the other does not exceed 7 mm. the Caudal fin heterocercal type, spinal cord – round shape and small size.

The Body selachii has a color from brown to almost black, sometimes with a greenish tint. Around the trunk located dark purple spots. The eyes of a shark are small, green, without a protective membrane. They are able to glow in the dark, due to the accumulation of bioluminescense copepods, parasitic on the eye area of this giant.

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Structure

The bowhead sharks large fatty liver, which is more than 20% of the mass of the whole body. This body performs the additional function of the float.

Fabric shark highly saturated with ammonia and trimethylamine oxide. Such compounds prevent the freezing of blood, support the health proteins and the normal flow of biological processes in the North. Both substances are toxic, so shark meat not only has a disgusting taste, but also can cause poisoning – under the action of gastric juice trimethylaminuria turns into trimethylamine, which causes the alcohol effect. The bladder of a shark, so the waste products excreted by the skin.

These animals are remarkably large and slow. The movement speed of it is surprisingly small-no more than one kilometer per hour. This is because, living in cold waters, most of the energy selacia have to spend on heating your own body. Bowhead shark — the longest lasting among the representatives of the animal world. As installed, the lifespan is up to 500 years.

Food

The Large size, low speed, and small mouth salahi significantly affect what they eat bowhead shark. It is too slow, cautious and even in some degree cowardly, so often stalking the sleeping, sick or weak seals and, thus, hunting them. In the main diet consists of organic garbage, carrion and small animals such as cod, flounder, sea bass, octopus, crab, squid, Stingray. In the stomachs of these predators were found jellyfish, algae, remains of reindeer and polar bears. The smell of rotting meat attracts the Greenland sharks, so they can often be found near fishing vessels.

Reproduction

This period falls at the end of spring. Salahiya applies ovoviviparous animals – she has deprived the cornea of the eggs with a size of 8 cm inside. In one litter from the Greenlandic shark is born up to a dozen cubs in the amount of not less than 90 cm, the Females become reproductive ability at the age of 150 years, their length to that point is 4.5 m in males it is less – about 3 m.

Interaction

The Arctic (or Greenland) shark refers to the apex predators. No it does not hunt, the only enemy-man. These sharks are subject to fishing from liver failure that people use for technical fat, rich in vitamins. Greenland polar shark has the status “Close to the vulnerable situation”. This species is carefully monitored for environmental organizations, as the shark population is decreasing every year, partly due to slow reproduction.

As mentioned above, raw meat selachii very poisonous, due to the high content of urea and TMAO. But the natives of the North have learned to treat it for human consumption and feeding Pets – soaking and repeated boiling allows to neutralize the toxins. Icelanders, as descendants of the glorious Vikingscook him a traditional dish hakarl. Fishing sharks today are engaged in some other countries. It is quite phlegmatic and absolutely non-aggressive. Surprisingly, the giant caught in the net, behaving very quietly. Some fishermen believe these sea creatures pest – for the damage of the gear and the extermination of fish.

The polar Cases of attacks of sharks on humans are extremely rare, because in cold places where they live, the probability of meeting is very small. However, the case when the reason that on the surface of the water had to go up to a group of divers became bowhead shark.

Interesting facts

To date, the results of numerous studies, it is known that bowhead shark is the oldest vertebrates in the world. However, to establish this fact, scientists had to make great efforts. The fact that most of the methods used to establish the age of the animal, is not applicable to polar shark. It is not formed layers of calcium carbonate in the ears, which determine the age of the fish; the vertebrae selachii soft as wax, which does not allow to establish the life expectancy on the growth rings of the vertebrae.

Age of polar sharks managed to install on proteins at the center of the lens of the eye. It grows throughout life and the proteins are formed at the stage of embryonic development. Radiocarbon analysis allowed us to determine the lifetime of their content of the isotope carbon-14, a surge which occurred after the atomic bomb tests. One of the studied by specialists of sharks was 392. Taking into account the error of the radiocarbon method, the study found that the polar sharks can live up to 500 years. This longevity is due to the fact that all vital processes in cold water slower than the thermophilic members of this family.