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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Environment
Henry Belot

Pencils with teeth: meet the tiny cookiecutter shark that attacked a catamaran off Cairns

The teeth of the cookiecutter shark, the species which attacked a catamaran in the Coral Sea off the coast of Cairns.
The teeth of the cookiecutter shark, the species which attacked a catamaran in the Coral Sea off the coast of Cairns. Photograph: Mike Miller

The small sharks that damaged a catamaran off the coast of Cairns have been described as “pencils with teeth” and they have a history of trying to eat inanimate objects, including submarines.

Three people were rescued from the inflatable vessel and the Russian Geographic Society – which was involved with the sailors’ round-the-world expedition – confirmed the hull was attacked by cookiecutter sharks in the Coral Sea.

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