Frilled Shark

ID points

• Slender eel-like body with a shark's gill slits
• Six pairs of gill slits, the first pair joined across the throat
• Needle-like teeth arranged in three-pointed clusters

Basics

Family

Chlamydoselachidae

Length

100–200 cm

Depth

50-1500 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic · Deep sea

Distribution

Deep sea worldwide

Habitat

Deep sea near the bottom

Diet

Cephalopods, fish

Easily confused with

LungfishPectoral and pelvic fins reduced to four thin filamentsMoray EelSnake-like body with no pectoral or pelvic finsUndulated MorayYellow-green wavy net pattern on a dark brown ground

Fun fact

The frilled shark has 6 pairs of gills and around 300 three-pronged teeth. Its snake-like swimming and long slender body probably lie behind ancient sea monster stories, and its pregnancy is thought to last as long as 3.5 years.