To make matter worse, scientists who have studied the stomachs of cookiecutter sharks often find their stomachs empty and with no traces of their previous meal. When they are not at the ocean’s surface, these sharks live 1,500 meters below sea level, making it is nearly impossible to monitor them. Despite these observations, very little is known about the animals’ diets. Credit: Wayne Hoggard, NOAA Photo Libraryįrom whales to great white sharks, to leatherback sea turtles, to submarines, and even the occasional human, scientists have documented the powerful bite of cookiecutter sharks. Credit: Jennifer Strotman, Smithsonian InstituteĬhomping on Whom? Cookiecutter shark bite on a dolphin. Credit: NOAA Observer Project Preserved cookiecutter shark showing its fused lower teeth. At only 50cm (20 inches) in length, cookiecutter sharks are a small but fearless predators. Within seconds, the prey becomes the predator – or more accurately, giving that these sharks don’t kill their prey, the prey becomes the parasite. Like a cookie-cutting tool making an imprint in dough, the fused bottom teeth of these small 50 cm long sharks chomp at the flesh of large apex predators. But far from helpless, the light lures their victims closer so that the cookiecutter shark can plan its attack. The fish’s bioluminescent light, usually a sign of distress, attracts large predators like dolphins, orcas, and great white sharks. Swimming near the surface in the middle of the night, the cookiecutter shark ( Isistius brasiliensis) seems helpless. Integrating multiple chemical tracers to elucidate the diet and habitat of Cookiecutter Sharks. L., Meyer, L., Port, J., Scherrer, S., & O’Sullivan, J.
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