Cookiecutter Shark
Fast Facts
Fast Facts
- eats squid and crustaceans. Takes bites out of marlin, dolphin, tuna, other sharks, stingrays, seals and whales
- size: 16 to 22 inches
- depth range: 3,000 feet below the surface
- Did you know? There are reports of the cookiecutter shark leaving crater marks on nuclear submarines.
The cookiecutter shark gets its name from the cookie-shaped bites it leaves in its prey. Cookiecutter sharks have 30 to 37 small teeth in the top of their mouth and 25 to 31 larger triangular teeth on the bottom. The teeth are connected at their base so they get lost as a complete unit rather than as individual teeth like with other sharks. It is believed as the lower teeth shed, they get eaten by the shark to maintain calcium in their bodies.
For a small shark, it goes after much larger prey. It attracts large prey by giving off a light on its body that makes it look like a small fish. The photophores--light-producing organs--are located on the underside of its body. When the large prey swims by to feed, the cookiecutter attacks and takes a bite. The cookiecutter shark attaches itself to the large prey with its sucking lips and pointy upper teeth. It then spins, and its bottom triangular teeth scoop out a piece of flesh about 2 inches wide and 2 inches deep. It stays at great depths during the day and swims closer to the surface at night to feed.
Wounds look like this:
For a small shark, it goes after much larger prey. It attracts large prey by giving off a light on its body that makes it look like a small fish. The photophores--light-producing organs--are located on the underside of its body. When the large prey swims by to feed, the cookiecutter attacks and takes a bite. The cookiecutter shark attaches itself to the large prey with its sucking lips and pointy upper teeth. It then spins, and its bottom triangular teeth scoop out a piece of flesh about 2 inches wide and 2 inches deep. It stays at great depths during the day and swims closer to the surface at night to feed.
Wounds look like this:
Source
Bester, Cathleen. "Cookiecutter Shark." FLMNH Ichthylology Department. Web. Accessed 2 May 2015. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/cookiecuttershark/cookiecuttershark.html
Bester, Cathleen. "Cookiecutter Shark." FLMNH Ichthylology Department. Web. Accessed 2 May 2015. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/cookiecuttershark/cookiecuttershark.html