Bigeye thresher shark

(Alopias superciliosus)

Diet

Feeds on bony fish such as tuna, anchovies and sardines, as well as squid.

Habitat

An oceanic and coastal shark that is found in warm, tropical and temperate seas worldwide.

Fin-tastic facts

Thresher sharks are pelagic, which means they roam the open ocean. They are easily recognizable by their elongated caudal fin, which can be as long as their body. This remarkable adaptation has allowed these sharks to hunt in a most unusual way. When hunting, the shark will swim close to a school of fish and use their pectoral fins to brake, causing the tail fin to flick over the body into the shoal. Fish that are hit by the tail are immediately stunned, and the thresher shark simply goes around and collects the dazed fish. They are often seen around seamounts where hungry cleaner fish pick off parasites, and if they don’t do a good enough job of it, the sharks will even breach multiple times out of the water in an attempt to dislodge the rest of the pesky parasites.