Sixgill Sharks Have Survived Multiple Mass Extinction Events

This lineage endured catastrophes that erased countless dominant species.

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🤯 Did You Know (click to read)

Many deep-sea organisms show evolutionary stability compared to rapidly changing surface species.

The hexanchiform lineage, which includes sixgill sharks, originated more than 200 million years ago and persisted through major extinction events, including the one that ended the age of non-avian dinosaurs.

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💥 Impact (click to read)

Deep-sea refuges likely buffered these sharks from the full force of surface-level environmental collapse.

A predator swimming today carries genetic continuity from oceans that predate modern ecosystems. Few large vertebrates can claim survival across planetary resets of such magnitude.

Source

Smithsonian Ocean Portal

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