Six-pointed shark: habitat, appearance, danger to humans

After an amateur fisherman caught in Ireland a large-sized shabby shark, many locals became seriously worried and began to look for detailed information about this fish. But most of all people were interested in whether it was a danger to humanity.

How do six-shark sharks look like

Often, a six-branch shark is jokingly called a "dinosaur" or "thick cow" because of its appearance and slowness. She is capable of slowly sinking to great depths and looks pretty awesome.

The average body length of one adult is at least 3-5 meters, but there are cases when it was possible to catch a shark up to 7 meters long. Usually females are slightly larger than males and weigh about 400 kg. The body of the shark has a torpedo shape, the head is large, and the skeleton consists entirely of cartilage. It is noteworthy, but the six-branch shark does not have a fin on its back - it is located closer to the tail. Its rounded pectoral fins help to maintain balance, the fish accelerates with the help of tail movement. A distinctive feature of the species is the number of gill covers - one more (6, not 5) than other sharks. This is probably directly related to the adaptation mechanisms, since the fish filters out much more oxygen from the water.

Also, a giant six-branch shark can draw its small green eyes into the head. She sees the surroundings in black and white. On the back, the color of the shark is white and brown, and its belly is snow-white. Some individuals are distinguished by a whitish stripe on the lateral part of the body. In the mouth of multi-branch sharks are located sharp teeth in several rows (4 rows of mini-blades on top and 2 from below). The smallest signals of fish are caught with the help of detectors located inside the head. In addition, on its lower part there are supersensitive nostrils.

Habitat of sharks

A large six-branch shark is common in:

• The Atlantic Ocean (north of Iceland);
• The Mediterranean Sea (off the coast of Chile);
• Pacific Ocean (northern hemisphere - off the coast of the USA, Mexico, Australia, California, Vancouver, Taiwan, Sumatra);
• The Indian Ocean (South Africa).

This viviparous fish prefers moderate and tropical waters. Adult individuals are able to dive a few thousand meters, and closer to the night to rise to the surface.

Nutrition of six-nosed sharks

Mainly six-branch shark feeds on fish (flounder, herring, pike, hake), crustaceans (squid, crabs), skates, and sometimes even ate its relatives. Do not disdain carrion. There are also cases when sharks attacked marine animals such as seals. Her teeth can grab a wide variety of food. Sharks specifically for hunting hike to the surface of the water.

Lifestyle of sharks, reproduction and care of the offspring

Representatives of the species of six-shark sharks live alone and are among the ovovivirus. The period of puberty occurs when the shark reaches 200 cm in length. After the fertilization process, the embryos develop in the body of the female - one individual is capable of giving birth to up to 100 cubs with a length of 70 cm. At the same time, since the birth of the offspring, it lives independently in shallow water, without care and protection from adult fish. Despite such harsh conditions, among sharks there is a rather high percentage of survival.

Danger to humans

Despite its formidable and fearsome appearance, the gray six-shark shark poses no danger to humans. Moreover, at a meeting with him the predator prefers to float to the depth. However, a case is known when a huge individual attacked a 24-year-old diver Stephen Foggarty, who sank to the bottom of Lake Illawarra, located on the territory of Australia. Then the shark bitten the man's right leg, and he managed to survive only due to timely assistance.

It is worth noting that this year the six-sheared shark in Ireland was caught. Its approximate weight was not less than 680 kg with a body length of up to 7.5 meters. Experts saw the predator only on the given photographs - it was not possible to weigh it. This is the biggest shark caught on the territory of Europe to bait. So, the 26-year-old Englishman Ben Bond (an amateur fisherman with experience) could not lift his prey to the surface for more than an hour, after which he photographed it, took it off the hook and gently released it.

"I was not afraid until I pulled it out. I even managed to look inside her huge jaws, "Bond noted.

Employees of the Department of Fisheries in Ireland recalled that fishing in this way is a legal industry. Sport fishing, when the catch is not killed, but released to freedom, is allowed in the country.

Scientists recall that six-knuckle sharks are the oldest representatives of the family among the living. They appeared about 200 million years ago. Also among the people, such multicircle sharks are often called cow or mud.