Pacific Sleeper Shark

Overview

The Pacific counterpart of the Greenland shark. Similarly slow-moving and cold-water adapted. Found throughout the North Pacific from Japan to the Gulf of Alaska. Can dive to depths exceeding 2,000 m.

Habitat

The shark prefers continental shelves and slopes, to depths of more than 6561.7 ft [2000 m]. They range into littoral in the north (once found trapped in a tide pool), and they go very deep in the south.

Distribution

North Pacific from Japan to Mexico.

Behavior

These are lumbering and sluggish sharks. Their small mouth and large oral cavity suggest suction feeding. There is a possible sexual segregation (pregnant females not recorded).