Cookiecutter Shark!

I wonder if that shark is a scavenger also. I just finished watching a DVD series called The Blue Planet: Seas of Life. Excellent series, by the way. One scene showed a whale that had died and sunk into the depths. It was covered with sharks that cut out a section of flesh as described, then burrowed into the carcass and tunneled through it. Not sure if it was the same species though.

The comments about the shark going up and down each day sound accurate too. In this series, they said that the largest migration on earth occurs each night, as 1 billion tons of biomass rises from the bottom. Apparently the plankton rises, and the whole food chain goes with it.
 
tarsier said:
I wonder if that shark is a scavenger also. I just finished watching a DVD series called The Blue Planet: Seas of Life. Excellent series, by the way. One scene showed a whale that had died and sunk into the depths. It was covered with sharks that cut out a section of flesh as described, then burrowed into the carcass and tunneled through it. Not sure if it was the same species though.
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If that's the series produced by the BBC (and it sounds like it is), IIRC it wasn't sharks that were scavenging on the whale carcass it was hagfish.

overhand.jpg


Hagfish don't really have jaws. Instead they have two pairs of rasps on top of a tongue. They pull meat into their mouths with the tongue, then tear it off the prey with the rasps.
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hagfish.jpg


More info at http://oceanlink.island.net/oinfo/hagfish/hagfish.html
 
Hagfish are what they make "eelskin" wallets out of. They are creatures that are beautiful in their ugliness. But Hagfish Leather sounds less marketing friendly.
 
s0laris said:
If that's the series produced by the BBC (and it sounds like it is), IIRC it wasn't sharks that were scavenging on the whale carcass it was hagfish.
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Yes, you are correct! Those were the critters...:thumbup:
 
That reminds me of the photo I saw of a submarine that was attacked by a giant squid . The rubber covered sonar dome had some of the squid's teeth imbedded in it !!
 
Squid have teeth?

I can't find anything on that one at www.snopes.com ...
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Teeth is a bit of a misnomer. Snopes won't help you here.

Squid possess a chitinous beak but no formal dentition. What many people call teeth are actually the chitinous hooks or claws found on the suckers of larger squid such as Architeuthis (the giant squid) and some of the larger Loligo, Mesonychoteuthis, Galiteuthis species. Sperm whales often show circular scars from battles with these larger squid. Although the scars left by these "teeth" average about 1" in diameter, there have been some measured at 2.5" across. Some of these larger species also have rearward facing hooks or "claws" on the pads of their two longer feeding tentacles. One of these larger species, Taningia danae, photophores on two of its tentacles. These are the largets light producing organs found on any animal and the danae can flash these on at will - probably to attract prey.

The link provides some pics and better info on some of these large cephalopods.

TONMO - The Octopus News Magazine On-Line

.
 
Bad malacologist, Java. Bad!

Squid really do have teeth!! I forgot they possess an organ known as the radula. The radula is a tongue-like organ covered with rows of microscopic teeth. These teeth, the dentition pattern are used for precise species identification. The squid uses the radula to rasp flesh from its prey and convey it into the bucal cavity for digestion. In another mollusk family, the Conus, the radula has singular hollow, barbed, harpoon-like teeth attached through it to a poison gland. The animal uses the radula to inject the tooth into its prey and then pump a powerful neurotoxin into its body. The victim is immobilized within seconds and the radula is withdrawn with prey attached into the bucal cavity. The tooth is digested along with the prey and another is moved into place on the radula. This neurotoxin is quite powerful and stings from Conus geographus and Conus textile have caused several human fatalities in the Indo-Pacific region. The toxin is currently being researched for use in cardiac treatment and as a pain reliever.

The pic shows the radular teeth for a squid

radula.jpg






:mad: :mad: I’m having a bitch of a time posting using the quote feature for some reason so posted this separately
 
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