By Michael Lee Simpson
A sleeper shark gliding through near-freezing depths off Antarctica marks the first confirmed sighting of its kind in the region.
Researchers with the University of Western Australia captured the footage in January 2025 using a deep-sea camera deployed near the South Shetland Islands.
The shark, estimated at 10 to 13 feet long, swam calmly at about 490 meters deep in water measuring just 34.29 degrees Fahrenheit.
The camera showed the shark slowly drifting over a flat, lifeless seabed while a skate – a flat, ray-like fish – lay still nearby without reacting
The shark swam in the ocean’s middle layer – the warmest water available there – trapped between colder, saltier water below and fresher, icy meltwater above.
Sleeper sharks are known for slow metabolism and scavenging in frigid environments. They feed on marine snow, squid and whale carcasses sinking to the seafloor.
The discovery challenges assumptions about polar marine life.
Limited deep-sea surveys in Antarctica, conducted mainly in summer with few cameras, mean such species may have gone undetected for years.
Alan Jamieson, founding director of the University of Western Australia’s research center, confirmed that no prior records exist of sharks in the Antarctic Ocean.
“We went down there not expecting to see sharks because there’s a general rule of thumb that you don’t get sharks in Antarctica,” said Jamieson.
“And it’s not even a little one either. It’s a hunk of a shark. These things are tanks.”
