Frilled Sharks Infographic

• Environmental Influences
• Adaptations for Life in the Twilight/Mesopelagic Zone
• Large eyes that can detect small amounts of light.

• Ridges along the sides of their flanks contain mechanoreceptors, which let the shark detect the faintest disturbance in the water. The unique lateral line makes frills more sensitive to movement than other sharks. Even in complete darkness, frills can locate prey with ease. ​

• The liver is full of low-density oil.

• Ectothermic sharks.

Frilled Sharks

• In-Depth with Frills​:
• known as 'living fossils'. ​
• 'Anguineus' Latin .
• The species name is 'Anguineus' which is Latin for snake-like; they swim in a serpentine manner.​

• Long gestation period of up to 3.5 years.​

• Sexual dimorphism: females are larger than the male
• sharks.

• Bioluminescence Visibility In the Depths:
• ​This is a giant siphonophore, which lives in the Mesopelagic zone, along with the frilled shark. Its bioluminescent nature may help the shark with location since it is able to see faint light.

• Evolution Timeline:
• Frills remained unaltered in the dark depths, other than embryonic development.
• Believed to be the ancient morphotype of all sharks. ​
• Frill embryos undergo a major change in head shape during stages 32-33.

• It is widely believed that frills were related to cladodonts based on the similarities in their teeth. ​

• References:
• Guardian, S. (2022, October 21). Frilled shark. sharkguardian.https://www.sharkguardian.org/post/frilled-shark
• López-Romero, F. A., Klimpfinger, C., Tanaka, S., & Kriwet, J. (2020, July). Growth trajectories of prenatal embryos of the deep-sea shark chlamydoselachus anguineus (Chondrichthyes). Journal of fish biology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7497067/
• The rise of modern sharks. (n.d.). http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/evolution/rise_modern.htm#:~:text=Cow%20and%20Frilled%20Sharks&text=Articulated%20cow%20shark%20remains%20are,about%2095%20million%20years%20ago.

Great White snout vs Frilled Shark

• Conclusion:
• Frilled sharks have survived many eons, safely nestled in the ocean's depths, but if the oceans keep warming due to climate change, these ancient sharks could go extinct. Scientists are always learning more about the prehistoric Earth through frills, providing an insight into the primordial oceans.

• Climate Change:
• Frilled sharks aren't affected as much as surface creatures, due to their Mesopelagic habitat. However, since the oceans are warming, up to 40% of the Twilight Zone's inhabitants could disappear since the warmer waters are affecting the thermocline. They are ectothermic sharks, so they could adapt to the temperature changes.