image credit: seapics.com
image credit: arkive.org
Crocodile Shark Embryo
image credit: arkive.orgHabitat: worldwide in tropical waters from the surface to a depth of 1,940 ft
Status: Near Threatened
Status: Near Threatened
This odd looking creature is the Crocodile Shark (Pseudocarcharias kamoharai) and no, it is not the love child of a crocodile and shark. *badoom-chhhh*… Ya, I’m not funny.
These guys are a species of mackerel shark and the only member of the family Pseudocarchariidae. Typically only growing to around 3.3ft in length, the Crocodile Shark gets its common name from its Japanese name mizuwani (水鰐, literally “water crocodile”) which it got from its sharp teeth and preference for vigorously snapping its jaws even once taken out of the water.
The Crocodile Shark is aplacental viviparous, which means that the young develop inside eggs within the mother until they’re ready to be born. The young feed on extra eggs that the mother produces for this very purpose.
image credit: fossilsonline.com
