Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Way Off Course - Brazilian Greenland Sharks?

Thanks to the Dorsal Fin Blog for this rare find and Happy New Year sir. If there's one thing that deepwater drilling has given us over the years it's been a treasure trove of deepwater critter discoveries.

Anyone remember the alien squid from 2008?

"The crew aboard of the Stena DrillMAX caught some amazing footage earlier this month of a large Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) recorded at over 9,100′ (2,770m) deep. To give a frame of reference, the pipe seen in the background is approximately 5′ (1.5m) in diameter. The depth (in feet) can be seen on the video in the upper-right corner. "

 


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2 comments:

George said...

Quick update: Jeffrey Gallant of GEERG has commented that this is more likely a southern sleeper shark (Somniosus antarcticus). However, it is “virtually impossible” to tell based solely on imagery.

Regardless, the guys from the Stena DrillMAX crew seem pretty excited about the find!

Horizon Charters Guadalupe Cage Diving said...

Thanks for the update, Jeff would know he's the Green Man.

Regardless of species that's a biggun' perhaps even gravid?

I noticed all the fresh scratch marks on the head and snout so perhaps that's also the result of a good old fashioned feed.