Thousands of schloofing sharks were spotted in an underwater sleepover party off the coast of Australia.
The shiver consisted of Port Jackson sharks, a species that inhabits Australia’s southern coastal waters. The sharks are known for their somewhat bizarre appearance, with two prominent ridges running from their blunt noses to the backs of their heads. The sharks, which can grow up to 5.5 feet (1.6 meters) in length, are nocturnal and spend their nights hunting for squid, octopuses, and crustaceans. Unlike many other shark species, Port Jackson sharks are not considered a threatened or endangered species.
The sharks were resting at the bottom of Beagle Marine Park, an aquatic reserve in the Bass Strait, the body of water that separates Australia from Tasmania to its south. A research team from the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) spotted the sharks during a recent expedition. Jacquomo Monk, a senior research fellow with IMAS and the expedition’s leader, said in a statement that the scientists had been scanning the ocean seabed with a remotely operated underwater robot when it came across the sharks “tightly packed like a carpet spread across the seafloor,” some 213 feet (65 meters) beneath the surface.
The sharks were a welcome, but not unexpected, sight for the research team, who had previously seen a similar gathering six years ago during another expedition. The researchers had returned to see how conditions in the park had changed in that time.
“We had been hoping to see the sharks again on this survey,” said Monk. “Coming upon them twice in a 3,000 square kilometer [1,158 square mile] park is like finding a needle in a haystack.”
What hadn’t been previously noticed was that all the sharks were female, which “poses more questions than answers for us, but we know that the males and females of this species often live apart, except when mating,” said Monk. “We don’t know exactly why the females are here. Perhaps they are feasting on the local delicacy—doughboy scallops—before the long trip north to lay their eggs. Seeing them again does tell us that the area is important to them.”
A swarm of sharks was the plot to Netflix’s surprise summer hit Under Paris, but unlike the mutant makos from the movie, Port Jackson sharks are not a threat to humans. Even on the very rare occasions they do bite, the worst that happens is a bruise and torn wetsuit.
