Vertical Range of Sixgill Sharks Spans More Than a Mile of Ocean Depth

This single predator can patrol a vertical world taller than many skyscrapers are high.

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Pressure increases by roughly one atmosphere every 33 feet of seawater depth.

Sixgill sharks occupy depth ranges that can exceed a mile between their deepest dives and shallower nighttime movements. Few large vertebrate predators operate across such dramatic vertical gradients in pressure, temperature, and light.

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A change of more than 5,000 feet means transitioning from near-freezing, lightless water to comparatively warmer upper layers within hours. The physiological tolerance required rivals the engineering challenges faced by deep-diving submersibles.

By spanning ocean layers separated by darkness and crushing force, sixgills function as biological bridges between ecosystems that rarely interact. Their daily commute compresses a mile of ocean into a single hunting circuit.

Source

NOAA National Ocean Service

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