A surprising 'tank'-like shark has been caught on camera in the frigid depths of Antarctica, challenging long-held scientific beliefs. The creature, resembling an 'ungainly barrel' of a shark, was filmed in January 2025, cruising over a barren seabed far from the reach of sunlight. This discovery has significantly impacted our understanding of the area's biodiversity.
Researcher Alan Jamieson revealed that many experts previously assumed sharks did not inhabit the icy Antarctic waters. The specimen, estimated to measure between 3 and 4 meters (10 and 13 feet), represents a significant find, overturning prior knowledge. Jamieson stated, '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. And it’s not even a little one either. It’s a hunk of a shark. These things are tanks.'
The camera, operated by the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre, was positioned off the South Shetland Islands near the Antarctic Peninsula, well within the boundaries of the Antarctic Ocean. The center granted The Associated Press permission to publish the images, showing the shark at a depth of 490 meters (1,608 feet) with a near-freezing water temperature of 1.27 degrees Celsius (34.29 degrees Fahrenheit).
A skate, a shark relative, was also captured on the seabed, seemingly unperturbed by the passing shark. This was not surprising, as scientists already knew their range extended that far south. Jamieson, the founding director of the research center, noted that no records of another shark in the Antarctic Ocean exist.
Climate change and warming oceans could be driving sharks to the Southern Hemisphere's colder waters, but limited data on range changes near Antarctica due to the region's remoteness makes it difficult to confirm. The slow-moving sleeper sharks could have been in Antarctica for a long time without detection. Jamieson suggested that the shark population in the Antarctic Ocean is likely sparse and challenging for humans to detect.
The shark maintained a depth of around 500 meters (1,640 feet) along a seabed that sloped into much deeper water, as it was the warmest layer of several water layers stacked upon each other. The Antarctic Ocean is heavily layered due to conflicting properties, including colder, denser water from below not readily mixing with fresh water from melting ice above.
Jamieson expects other Antarctic sharks to live at the same depth, feeding on the carcasses of whales, giant squids, and other marine creatures that sink to the bottom. However, there are few research cameras positioned at that specific depth in Antarctic waters, and those that are can only operate during the Southern Hemisphere summer months, from December through February. Jamieson concluded, 'The other 75% of the year, no one’s looking at all. And so this is why, I think, we occasionally come across these surprises.'
