Day Ten: The Angel Shark

I first saw these guys on Shark week a couple weeks back. They are really cool sharks. I’m excited to tell you about how they eat. It’s really cool. I’ll make sure to link a video of them eating.

Statistics

• Commonly grow to a length of 5 feet
• Found in shallow tropical water

The angel sharks are an unusual genus of sharks with flattened bodies and broad pectoral fins that give them a strong resemblance to skates and rays. The 16+ known species are in the genus Squatina, the only genus in its family, Squatinidae. They occur worldwide in temperate and tropical seas. Most species inhabit shallow temperate or tropical seas, but one species inhabits deeper water, down to 4,300 ft.

Feeding

Although this shark is a bottom dweller and appears harmless, it should be respected due to its powerful jaws and sharp teeth which can inflict painful lacerations if provoked. It may bite if a diver approaches the head or grabs the tail. If they are left alone they will not attack.

They bury themselves in sand or mud lying in wait for prey, which includes fish, crusteaceans, and various types of mollusks.

I think this is the coolest thing! Watch this!

AWESOME!! I could watch that over and over again. That thing is RAD!

Reproduction

I couldn’t find much about the reproduction of angel sharks. I did find that they are ovoviviparous (give birth to live young) and have litters of up to 13 pups.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_shark
http://schools-wikipedia.org/wp/a/Angel_sharks.htm