Pacific Sleeper Shark Liver Oil Makes Up Nearly One-Third of Its Body Weight

One-third of this massive shark is essentially a floating oil tank.

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Deep-sea sharks were historically hunted specifically for their liver oil before synthetic alternatives became widespread.

Pacific sleeper sharks possess enormous livers rich in low-density oils that can account for up to 30 percent of their total body weight, allowing the multi-ton animal to achieve near-neutral buoyancy without a swim bladder.

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In a creature that can weigh over a metric ton, this means hundreds of kilograms of oil act as a built-in flotation system, letting the shark hover in crushing deep-sea pressure where sunlight never penetrates.

This biochemical adaptation eliminates the need for constant swimming to avoid sinking, conserving energy in the food-scarce abyss and enabling a predator the size of a great white to drift silently through one of the most extreme pressure zones on Earth.

Source

Alaska Department of Fish and Game

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