gulper shark

Photo Credit: NOAA

The gulper shark, Centrophorus granulosus, is a deep water shark that occurs in tropical to temperate waters around the world. Notably, they have been seen in the eastern and western north Atlantic, common in Portugal and a few other places around that region all the way to the coast of North America around the USA's North Carolina and the shared Gulf of Mexico. #Finfact: The gulper shark has also been observed in the western Indian Ocean and the western Pacific near the Taiwan Island. Outside of these observed regions? Apparently rare!

Like other deep water sharks, they have a slow reproduction rate, so are at risk for exploitation. They hang around the outer continental shelves and upper slopes where they tend to exceed 656 ft (200m) down to 3937 ft (1,200 meters) deep. As a dogfish, they are long and slender, rarely larger than 5 ft (1.5 m), with two dorsal fins, and luminous green eyes. They migrate and school in small groups, but there is a lot still unknown about them!

From the ​IUCN website:

Centrophorus acus is a poorly known deepwater shark with a limited known distribution in the Western Pacific. It is also nominally recorded from the Western Central Atlantic and the relationship between these forms needs taxonomic resolution when more specimens are available. The (nominal) Western Central Atlantic subpopulation is assessed as Data Deficient due to complete lack of information at this time.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS ANIMAL?

GLOSSARY

• Bathydemersal: Living and feeding on the bottom below 200 m.
• Benthic zone: The bottom of an ocean or lake.
• Continental shelf: Extends from a continent underwater, resulting in a shallow-water area.
• Continental slope: The steep slope from a continental shelf to the ocean floor; usually around 20 km (12.4 miles) wide and made up of mud and silt substrate. It is an ideal area for deep sea fishing.​
• Dorsal fin: Fin located on the back.
• Dorsal side: The top of an animal.
• IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature.​

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