Researchers make first record of shark swimming in freezing Antarctic waters

A team of Australian scientists has discovered a shark in the freezing waters of the Antarctic Ocean for the first time in recorded history, a region where such animals had not previously been observed.

Researchers spotted the shark at a depth of 490 meters near the South Shetland Islands, where the water temperature was near-freezing levels of just 1.27 degrees Celsius, as Caliber.Az reports citing AP.

Many experts had thought sharks didn’t exist in the frigid waters of Antarctica before this find. However, video footage captured a large animal measuring about three to four meters in length, moving slowly through the waters of the Southern Hemisphere.

Experts suggest that ocean warming may be driving sharks to migrate into colder waters, though no such cases had previously been recorded in this region.

The shark was identified as a Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus), a species known for inhabiting deep, cold waters. The team recorded him moving at a steady depth of around 500 meters along a seabed that sloped into much deeper water. According to the researchers, the shark maintained that depth because that was the warmest layer of several water layers stacked upon each other to the surface. 

The Antarctic Ocean is highly stratified, with currents of different temperatures and salinity levels that rarely mix.

Scientists say it is possible that an undetected population of sharks exists in Antarctic waters, living at great depths and feeding on whale carcasses, giant squid, and other marine animals.

By Nazrin Sadigova