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Cookiecutter sharks have adaptations for hovering in the water column and likely rely on stealth and subterfuge to capture more active prey. Its dark collar seems to mimic the silhouette of a small fish, while the rest of its body blends into the downwelling light via its ventral photophores.
Despite their reputation, sharks historically have not posed a widespread danger to people. Only two other cases involving attacks on humans by cookiecutter sharks have been widely accepted by experts, but both those attacks were on human cadavers, one a drowning victim and the other a suicide.
What is unique about the Cookiecutter shark?
The cookiecutter shark gets its name from the cookie-shaped bite wounds it leaves on its prey. The shark’s unique teeth and short, coned snout create these round chunks. It will attach itself to a tuna, marlin, stingray, another shark, or even a whale, by suctioning its lips to the body of the animal.
Is cookie-cutter shark endangered?
Least Concern
Cookiecutter shark/Conservation status
4. The entire underside of the cookiecutter glows thanks to light-emitting organs in its skin called photophores. Some scientists think the sharks use this bioluminescence to blend in with the moonlight, while a dark, unlit collar around its throat, which resembles a fish, draws its prey up from the bottom.
This cookiecutter shark was spotted at night in deep water near Hawaii and represents a rare image of the fish taken in the wild. When feeding, the cookiecutter shark bites its victim and then rotates to remove a plug of flesh, often leaving large prey injured but alive.
Is a cookie-cutter shark endangered?
Are cookie-cutter sharks rare?
The largetooth cookiecutter shark (Isistius plutodus) is a rare species of squaliform shark in the family Dalatiidae, reported from depths of 60–200 m (200–660 ft) at scattered locations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The glow can attract prey, and also camouflages the shark by eliminating its shadow. One of the most important features of cookiecutter sharks is their teeth.
Updated April 30, 2018. The cookiecutter shark is a small shark species who got its name from the round, deep wounds it leaves on its prey. They are also known as the cigar shark, luminous shark, and cookie-cutter or cookie cutter shark. The cookiecutter shark’s scientific name is Isistius brasiliensis.
What did the cookiecutter shark do to submarines?
Some inanimate objects also have something to fear from cookiecutter attacks: The shark posed a threat to nuclear submarines in the 1970s. Cookiecutters took chunks out of the neoprene-covered sonar domes of several American subs, which caused the sound-transmitting oil to leak and blinded the vehicles.
How big does a cookiecutter shark attack get?
Parasitic attacks by the cookiecutter shark leave a round “crater wound”, averaging 5 cm (2.0 in) across and 7 cm (2.8 in) deep. The prevalence of these attacks can be high: off Hawaii, nearly every adult spinner dolphin bears scars from this species.