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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
By Rod McGuirk

Shark caught on camera in Antarctica’s icy waters

  • A sleepershark was filmed in the Antarctic Ocean in January 2025, challenging long-held scientific beliefs that sharks do not inhabit these frigid waters.
  • Researcher Alan Jamieson from the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre captured footage of the substantial shark, estimated to be between 3 and 4 metres long.
  • The shark was observed at a depth of 490 metres off the South Shetland Islands, within the Antarctic Ocean, where the water temperature was a near-freezing 1.27 degrees Celsius.
  • Experts confirm this is the first recorded instance of a shark being found so far south, overturning prior understanding of the region's biodiversity.
  • While climate change could be a factor, scientists suggest these slow-moving sharks may have long been present but unnoticed due to the area's remoteness and limited deep-sea research.

IN FULL

Surprise as shark caught on camera in Antarctica’s near-freezing deep for the first time

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