UK Seas
Discover the wonderful sea creatures that inhabit the UK seas and shores
UK seas is a guide to the fauna and flora found around UK coasts. While the majority of species are marine, some species are included that are regularly encountered on land by the coast, so you’ll find descriptions of non-marine species such as reptiles, amphibians, insects and plants as well.
Frilled Shark
Chlamydoselachus anguineus
Type
Sharks
Description
Frilled sharks look really different to most of the sharks we are familiar with, and their long, snake-like appearance is thought to have inspired tales of huge sea serpents. It has a large blunt head and a very large mouth armed with lots of rows of sharp teeth. The shark uses these teeth to catch fish, squid and smaller sharks. Behind the head are 6 pairs of “frilly” gill slits, with the first pair going all the way around the neck to meet underneath. These gill slits have the appearance of ruffles or frills around its neck, and give the animal its name.
Fossil record suggests it belongs to a group of sharks that has been around for at least 95 million years! The frilled shark is also known as the lizard shark or scaffold shark.
Location
Found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans - in the Eastern Atlantic found from Norway to South Africa.
Habitat
Deep sea