Sixgill Sharks Rise From Abyssal Depths to Surface Waters at Night

By day it hides miles down; by night it invades shallows.

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Electronic tagging studies have confirmed dramatic daily depth shifts in sixgill sharks.

Sixgill sharks perform vertical migrations, staying in deep water during daylight and rising hundreds or even thousands of feet toward the surface at night to feed. This daily commute spans pressure gradients that would incapacitate many marine species.

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💥 Impact (click to read)

Such extreme vertical travel allows sixgills to exploit prey that migrate upward under cover of darkness. They effectively patrol two separate ecosystems within a single 24-hour cycle.

This behavior connects deep-sea food webs with coastal environments, meaning a predator born in abyssal darkness may hunt within reach of divers after sunset. Few animals bridge such radically different habitats every day.

Source

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

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