Arctic Shark

Arctic Shark

We boarded the E&E submarine to meet our last animal this week- the Greenland shark. We spotted one of these elusive and majestic in the cold waters of the north Atlantic ocean. It was a big thrill!

Date: 12/15

Location: North Atlantic

• Greenland sharks are members of the sleeper shark family.
• Females are larger than males.
• Greenland sharks’ upper teeth lack the serration that most shark teeth have. It is the lower teeth that do most of the work.
• Not much was known about these sharks before the 1930s.

• Greenland sharks only grow about 1 cm a year.
• These sharks are very slow swimmers and have slow metabolisms. These adaptations help them survive in extremely low temperatures.
• Greenland sharks will migrate to warmer waters in winter, when they do so they will do to deeper depths.
• They are the only true arctic dwelling shark.
• Most Greenland sharks have parasitic copepods attached to their eyes that render them blind.
• Their flesh is extremely toxic.

We have a great time in the E&E sub on the search for these amazing creatures. Most other sharks could not survive in the temps that Greenland sharks do. Nature continually amazes us; just when you think nothing could live there in that harsh environment- we are proved wrong! Neat!