Cookie-cutter Sharks have been known to bite chunks out of the sonar domes of nuclear submarines.
Common name: Cookie-cutter Shark
Scientific name: Isistius brasiliensis
Photo: S. Humphreys, Australian Museum
Some sharks have to keep moving to breathe. How do they get enough oxygen to keep their energy up?
Sharks
Cookie-cutter Shark
Cookie-cutter Sharks live deep in the ocean, at depths of 3500 m. At night they come to the surface waters of the ocean to feed.
Cookie-cutter Sharks have big triangular teeth in the lower jaw. They have small piercing teeth in the upper jaw.
Cookie-cutter Sharks eat chunks of flesh from large bony fishes, seals, whales and other sharks. They also eat whole squids.
They catch their food by attaching themselves to their prey with special sucking lips. Once attached they spin their body to cut out a chunk of flesh, just like a cookie-cutter does with dough.
Cookie-cutter Sharks' teeth in the lower jaw are a triangle shape. In the upper jaw they have piercing teeth.
Cookie-cutter Sharks can grow up to 50 cm long.
Cookie-cutter Sharks give birth to live young but it is not known how many.
These sharks are not considered dangerous, because of their small size and the fact that they live deep in the ocean.
Copyright © Australian Museum, 2003
