Immense Sixgill Sharks Lack a Swim Bladder, Preventing Implosion at Depth

This giant predator survives crushing depths without an internal air tank.

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Shark livers can constitute up to a quarter of their body weight in some species.

Unlike many bony fish, sixgill sharks do not possess a gas-filled swim bladder. The absence of compressible air spaces allows them to descend to extreme depths without the risk of implosion from pressure changes.

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Their buoyancy is instead managed through large, oil-rich livers and dynamic movement, enabling stable positioning in water columns that would collapse air-filled organs.

This anatomical difference illustrates a biological workaround to a physical constraint that engineers must design around. Where machines require reinforced hulls, sixgills rely on evolutionary physics.

Source

NOAA National Ocean Service

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