At only 42-56 cms long (17-22 inches), the cookie-cutter shark is one of the smallest species of shark and doesn’t seem much longer than two pencils put end to end. But, don’t let it’s little size fool you. Also known as the cigar shark because of it’s long cylindrical body, this little guy packs a mean bite and takes round plug like chunks out of his victims, which is how he got tagged with the cookie-cutter name. But, it’s not cookies made of flour and sugar he snacks on, but rather of tuna, whales and even other sharks more than ten times it’s size.
The cookie-cutter shark inhabits the deep ocean and compared to other creatures of the deep, he may seem harmless and not in the least bit frightful. However, if you happen to get a peek at his teeth from his underside, lets just say, you wouldn’t want him taking a nip at you. The cookiecutter shark has 30–37 tooth rows in the upper jaw and 25–31 tooth rows in the lower jaw, however his upper and lower teeth are distinctly different. The upper teeth are small narrow and tapered, while the lower teeth are broader and knife-like, with their bases interlocking to form a single saw-like cutting edge. It also has think lips that enable it have suction to latch onto it’s victim in a parasitic manner, before it twists its body, scooping out a chunk of their flesh and leaving a rounded wound that looks as if it were punched out by a cookie cutter.
These bite marks have been spotted on a huge variety of large marine species such as whales, porpoises, dolphins, seals, deep water pelagic fish (tuna, dolphinfish, jacks etc), squid and other shark species like goblin sharks, blue sharks and the mega mouth shark…phew! That is quite the list for a little guy huh?
What helps the cigar shark snag its meals other than the unusual mouth, is the fact that it has some light-emitting organs called photophores that give the shark’s underside a greenish glow. This helps it’s silhouette appear like a small fish to predators swimming below and attracting their attention. When their curiosity draws them close, the little shark makes its move and latches on to take a bite.
The cookie-cutter shark being small, a deep water inhabitant and not very fast in terms of attacking speed, isn’t usually considered a danger to humans. However, this little creature has managed to put his mark on a few people around the world according to reports. Mostly reports were from shipwreck survivors that displayed small, clean but deep bites during night time and one case of an underwater photographer on an open ocean dive. Other reports are of bodies that were recovered from the water with cookiecutter shark bites, not being the cause of death though.
Fascinating isn’t it, what a mighty bite this tiny little shark has. Makes me re-think doing deep dives at open ocean dive sites. 🙂
