A cookiecutter shark is something else when it comes to leaving bite marks. When it comes to sharks, they all have their own unique traits; some are dangerous ones, while others are rather fascinating. And in the case of the cookiecutter sharks, it is a little bit of both. There are going to be some interesting facts about them that you will find below, so check them out.
1Appearance
A cookiecutter shark reaches a length of 42 to 56 centimeters, and it has an interesting appearance. Also known as “cigar shark”, the cookiecutter shark has a long cylindrical cigar-shaped body that is dark brown in color. The brown part is only on the upper part of the body, the color is light on the underside. And that light underside glows. On top of that, these sharks have the strongest intrinsic green luminescence of any shark. They use this special ability to attract prey. It has a short, blunt snout, and it has very large, oval, green eyes.
What makes it different from other sharks is its upper and lower teeth. The upper teeth of a cookiecutter shark are small, narrow, and upright. Meanwhile, the lower teeth are smooth-edged, broader, and larger, as well as knife-like. With the bases interlocking, it forms a single saw-like cutting edge; with 435 to 465 teeth in total. It got its name from its unique feeding method of gouging round plugs that resemble cuts by a cookie cutter. This shark has a very wide gape and strong teeth, making it quite dangerous to be around.
2Feeding & Habitats
Cookiecutter shark lives in warm oceanic waters worldwide, particularly near islands. Cookiecutter sharks are solitary, and they only come together to mate. They stay in the deep ocean during the day to escape predators, and they migrate to the surface at night to hunt prey. These sharks feed on a variety of prey, leaving unique bite marks and scars on fish.
When feeding, it attaches itself to its prey with its strong sucking mouth, and then twists about. Its hook-like upper teeth will hold the plug, and its sharp lower teeth will slice out a plug of flesh. The meal is served, and it feeds off of larger animals without killing them. If it is squids and other smaller prey, cookiecutter sharks can just eat them. For larger prey, they just bite chunks of flesh from dolphins, dugongs, larger sharks, stingrays, and more. It is also not uncommon for them to attack humans, giving divers the same marks from their bites.
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