{"id":36402,"date":"2013-06-02T05:45:25","date_gmt":"2013-06-02T09:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetsave.com\/?p=36402"},"modified":"2013-06-02T05:45:25","modified_gmt":"2013-06-02T09:45:25","slug":"greenland-shark-eats-a-polar-bear-sleeper-shark-facts-lifespan-diet-and-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetsave.com\/articles\/greenland-shark-eats-a-polar-bear-sleeper-shark-facts-lifespan-diet-and-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenland Shark Eats A Polar Bear — Sleeper Shark Facts, Lifespan, Diet, And Video"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Greenland Sleeper Shark — Somniosus microcephalus<\/em> — is a rather large, and strange, species of shark native to the icy waters of the North Atlantic, and is especially common in the region around Iceland and Greenland. The species has also been dubbed: the sleeper shark, ground shark, grey shark, gurry shark, and the Inuit name for it is Eqalussuaq<\/em>. They are the most-northerly shark species currently alive, and are well adapted to life in the frigid waters.<\/p>\n

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Image Credit: Screen Capture<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And something worth noting — they have often been found to have the remnants of polar bears, horses, and reindeer in their stomachs, after being caught. An individual was once caught which had a completely-intact reindeer, antlers and all, inside its belly.<\/p>\n

As mentioned before, they are a rather strange species — they have very small fins, they sometimes possess a very dark blackish color, they occasionally feature spots or streaks along their bodies, and they are thought to have an extremely long lifespan — possibly living as long as several hundred years. They are also one of the largest living species of shark — growing to lengths of over 21 feet, and reaching weights of over 2200 lbs. Some particularly large specimens have been reported, one of which was measured as being 24 feet long and weighing 3100 lbs. Most individuals currently alive seem to be between 8-16 feet long, and somewhere around 800-900 lbs, this may simply be as a result of overfishing<\/a> though — as they grow extremely slowly, and take a long time to mature. Another notable fact is that the females are typically the larger of the two sexes within the species.<\/p>\n