Greenland Shark

The Greenland shark is a large and unique shark. It is in the sleeper shark family of the dogfish shark order.

Size and Weight
These sharks are one of the largest species of shark, in fact the longest recorded one was around 22 feet long, making it the fourth largest shark. They are sometimes 20 feet long (or more), but more commonly grow to 15-17 feet. They will often weigh 2,000 lbs.

Description
These sharks are slow-moving and have thick, rounded bodies and snouts. They are identifiable by their small dorsal fins. Also, their eyes and gills are strangely small, especially for such a huge shark. They are a brown or grey color.

Habitat


These are the only sharks that live in the Arctic Ocean. They are specially adapted to living in frigid waters. They inhabit deep waters and are extremely hard to catch or spot. Greenland sharks have been seen or caught near Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Canada, and rarely in some coastal European countries farther south.

Prey
Greenland sharks usually eat fish like eels, cod, redfish, and skates. Still, they can easily eat a seal, although it may be difficult to catch them as they are slow and sluggish sharks.

Horses, caribou, and even polar bears have turned up in the stomachs of Greenland sharks that have been observed by scientists, so it is assumed that these animals fell into water (except polar bears, which would have been able to swim) and were eaten by the shark. They are not, however, the main prey of these sharks.

Video


These are videos showing rare encounters with a Greenland shark in its habitat.

Fun Facts

 * The Greenland shark's meat is poisonous, but the Inuits have figured out a process in which to make the shark's flesh edible.
 * This shark is thought to be able to live for 200 years!
 * Greenland sharks have six gill slits, not five like most sharks!