Pygmy Shark

Overview

One of the smallest shark species, reaching just 27 cm. Undertakes remarkable daily vertical migrations of hundreds of meters — rising to surface waters at night and descending to depths exceeding 1,500 m by day. Bioluminescent.

Habitat

These sharks are epipelagic, mesopelagic, and perhaps bathypelagic in the mid-ocean. They can be found at 6000 to 7-32605 ft [1829 to 9938 m], and they migrate from the surface at night to more than 4921.3 ft [1500 m], at least to midwater, perhaps the bottom, by day.

Distribution

They prefer oceanic and amphitemperate areas in the south Atlantic, south Indian and Pacific Oceans.