Thresher sharks are a very interesting sharks species that I have just recently learned more about. They have grown to be one of my favorites. The cute little face and the unique hunting strategy have really grown on me. Thresher sharks are a family of sharks that contains three species, the bigeye thresher (my personal favorite), pelagic thresher, and common thresher. All three of these species are considered vulnerable to extinction by the World Conservation Union, which is a big problem, as they are hunted for sport, for their meat, livers, skin, and for their fins, which adds to the steadily declining number.
- A Common Thresher Shark. Credit to Oregon State University
Habitat:
Thresher sharks are usually open water sharks, but they are sometimes spotted in shallow waters. Common thresher sharks are normally found along continental shelves of North America and Asia in the North-Pacific side. In the warmer waters of the Central and Western-Pacific, pelagic and bigeye threshers are more common.
- A Pelagic Thresher Shark. Credit to National Geographic
Unique Features:
Thresher Sharks are known for their long tails, which can grow the length of their body. The reason the shark has such a long tail is that it can use it like a whip to stun fish, instead of chasing after them one by one. The tail essentially works as a flashbang, where it leaves the fish stunned but not dead, for the shark to easily eat. Imagine being the fish that gets hit by a literal whip, and then be eaten alive! The largest of the three species is the common thresher, which can grow 6 meters, or 20 feet. That's a huge shark! Considering that many sharks are 60-70% muscle, imagine the amount of power that whip has.The second largest is the bigeye thresher, which gets about 5 meters, or 16 feet. The smallest of them all is the pelagic thresher, at 3 meters long, or 10 feet.
- A video of a thresher shark stunning its prey. Credit to LiveScience for the video.
Diet:
Thresher sharks like to eat schooling fish, like bluefish, small tuna, and mackerel. They also like to eat squid, cuttlefish, or crustaceans, and even the occasional seabird.
- A Bigeye Thresher Shark. Credit to UF Shark Research
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