Sleeper Shark Surprises Antarctic Scientists With Deep-Sea Sighting
A Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre camera off the South Shetland Islands captured a 3-4 meter sleeper shark at about 490-500 meters depth in near-freezing 1.27°C water, challenging the belief that sharks don’t inhabit the Antarctic Ocean. Researchers say the population there is likely sparse and hard to detect, and warming oceans could drive sharks toward the region, with limited year-round monitoring at that depth leaving room for surprises.
