Megamouth Sharks Have Bioluminescent Tissue Around Their Lips

A deep-sea shark glows around its mouth to lure invisible prey.

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Many deep-sea organisms use bioluminescence for camouflage, communication, or hunting in total darkness.

Researchers have identified reflective and potentially bioluminescent tissue lining the megamouth shark’s upper jaw. This adaptation may help attract plankton and small organisms in dark ocean waters where sunlight barely penetrates.

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At depths where sunlight fades to near blackness, a glowing mouth becomes a beacon. Instead of chasing prey, this massive shark may simply illuminate the water and allow plankton to drift directly inside its enormous jaws.

If confirmed as functional bioluminescence, this would make the megamouth one of the few known large sharks using light-based feeding tactics, blurring the boundary between deep-sea horror imagery and biological reality.

Source

Florida Museum of Natural History

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