Shark Filmed in Antarctic Depths Overturns Scientific Beliefs
A remarkable marine discovery has sent shockwaves through the scientific community, as a substantial sleeper shark was filmed for the first time in the frigid, near-freezing depths of the Antarctic Ocean. This unexpected sighting directly challenges long-held assumptions about the biodiversity of this remote region.
Groundbreaking Video Evidence
Researcher Alan Jamieson revealed this week that video evidence captured in January 2025 shows the shark, described as an "ungainly barrel" or "tank" of a creature, cruising languidly over a barren seabed. The footage was taken by a camera operated by the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre, positioned off the South Shetland Islands near the Antarctic Peninsula, well inside the boundaries of the Antarctic Ocean below the 60-degree south latitude line.
"We went down there not expecting to see sharks because there's a general rule of thumb that you don't get sharks in Antarctica," Jamieson said. "And it's not even a little one either. It's a hunk of a shark. These things are tanks."
Significance of the Discovery
The shark, estimated to measure between 3 and 4 metres (10 and 13 feet), was filmed at a depth of 490 meters (1,608 feet) where water temperatures were a near-freezing 1.27 degrees Celsius (34.29 degrees Fahrenheit). Jamieson, founding director of the University of Western Australia-based research centre, stated he could find no record of another shark found in the Antarctic Ocean.
Independent conservation biologist Peter Kyne from Charles Darwin University agreed, noting that a shark had never before been recorded so far south. "This is great. The shark was in the right place, the camera was in the right place and they got this great footage," Kyne said. "It's quite significant."
Environmental Context and Implications
The discovery raises important questions about marine life adaptations and potential climate impacts. Kyne suggested that climate change and warming oceans could potentially be driving sharks to the Southern Hemisphere's colder waters, though limited data exists due to the region's remoteness. Alternatively, the slow-moving sleeper sharks might have long been present in Antarctica without detection.
Jamieson explained that the shark was maintaining a depth of around 500 meters (1,640 feet) along a seabed sloping into deeper water, likely because this represented the warmest layer in the heavily stratified Antarctic Ocean. This stratification occurs due to conflicting properties, including colder, denser water from below not readily mixing with fresh water from melting ice above.
Research Challenges and Future Prospects
The sleeper shark population in the Antarctic Ocean is likely sparse and difficult to detect, compounded by limited research capabilities. Few cameras operate at this specific depth, and those that do can only function during the Southern Hemisphere summer months from December through February.
"The other 75% of the year, no one's looking at all. And so this is why, I think, we occasionally come across these surprises," Jamieson noted. He expects other Antarctic sharks may live at similar depths, feeding on carcasses of whales, giant squids, and other marine creatures that sink to the bottom.
In the video footage, a skate—a shark relative resembling a stingray—appears motionless on the seabed, seemingly unperturbed by the passing shark. Unlike the shark discovery, skates were already known to inhabit these southern waters, making their presence less surprising to scientists.
The Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre granted The Associated Press permission to publish the images this week, bringing this groundbreaking discovery to global attention and prompting renewed interest in Antarctic marine ecosystems.
