🐟Pacific sleeper shark
The Pacific sleeper shark is a shark of the family Somniosidae, the sleeper sharks. While primarily associated with temperate and subarctic waters of the Northern Pacific Ocean, it has been documented in the tropical Pacific and Antarctic Ocean as well. Reaching lengths of 4.65 m (15.3 ft), it is one of the world's largest predatory sharks. It is highly adapted to the extreme temperature and pressures of the deep-sea, including specialized liver oils and high concentrations of urea and trimethylamine oxide for survival. The sleeper shark has a sluggish reputation, but is also a versatile hunter and scavenger that migrates vertically. Due to its slow growth and vulnerability to fishing bycatch, it is currently classified as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2021.
- Body mass
- not recorded
- Body length
- 4.4 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- not recorded
Everything we know about the Pacific sleeper shark
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body length4.4 mmaximum recordedFishBaseOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
By sex
- Female4.3 mFishBasev25.04
Trophic level4.36FishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0
DietcarnivoreaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
From trophic level 4.36 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.
Danger to humansharmlessFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Pacific sleeper shark yet: body mass, shoulder height, top speed, bite force, maximum lifespan.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classElasmobranchii
- ›orderSqualiformes
- ›familySomniosidae
- ›genusSomniosus
- ›speciesSomniosus pacificus
- superclassGnathostomata
- classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
- subclassElasmobranchii
- genusSomniosus
All 8 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
- subclassElasmobranchii
- genusSomniosus
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