The creeping giant.
Ever get the feeling there’s something really creepy lurking beneath all that floating ice up north? We get it all the time. Cause of fear? The Greenland Shark. This shark is a native of the frigid waters surrounding Greenland and Iceland yet little is known about this animal. Here are some things we do know, all of them creepy:
1. Its lifespan may be up to 200 years.
2. It moves very slowly, yet fast-moving fishes, seals and even reindeer have been found in the stomaches of these sharks.
3. The fossilized appearance comes courtesy of small ‘teeth’ on its skin. Greenland Shark leather is approximately 9 times stronger than cowhide.
4. Its flesh is very toxic when fresh.
5. 80% of the adult population has a parasitic friend – a small Copepod embeds itself into the shark’s cornea, with the other half of it dangling out like a dead worm. Scar tissue forms on the eye, rendering eyesight semi-functional later in age. No matter – Greenland Sharks spend most of their time in darkness, up to 7200 feet below the surface.
Blinded by the Copepod.
