A shark that leaves terrible scars on its body (7 photos)

This shark also glows in the dark.





Meet the Brazilian luminous shark, which belongs to the genus of luminous sharks.

These sharks are found throughout the world in tropical and warm temperate waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. But they are most often found in the waters near Cuba and Brazil.

During the day they live at depths of up to 3000 meters, and at night they emerge closer to the surface. When morning comes, they dive into the depths again.



The Brazilian lantern shark is small in size and grows to only half a meter in length. It has an elongated body with a short muzzle and large eyes.

These sharks have very powerful jaws. The upper and lower teeth are very different from each other. The upper teeth are small and narrow, and the lower teeth are large and wide. Their teeth are somewhat reminiscent of the Langoliers from an old horror movie.





During the hunt, Brazilian luminescent sharks swim up to larger animals, attaching themselves to their body, after which they bite off a piece of the victim’s meat and swim away. Whales, dolphins, seals and even great white sharks suffer from their attacks.

Brazilian luminescent sharks also do not disdain to feed on small squid, crustaceans, mollusks and small fish.

They usually lead a solitary lifestyle, but they can attack large animals in packs, leaving deep scars on the victim’s body with a diameter of up to 7 centimeters. There have been cases when injured animals jumped ashore, trying to escape from the attack of these small predators.





These sharks have the ability to emit a green luminescent light that is clearly visible in the dark. Tiny photophores are located along the lower part of the body, from the head to the tail.

It is believed that this glow attracts marine life that swim towards the green light in hopes of finding food, but when they swim closer, the Brazilian glow shark attacks.



Very little is known about the reproduction of these sharks. They are believed to be ovoviviparous. Females have two functional uteruses in which they carry 6 to 9 embryos.

Brazilian lightsharks are not of commercial interest to fishermen, but they sometimes cause damage to fishing nets, telecommunications cables and underwater equipment. Another interesting fact: these sharks swallow their own fallen teeth, rather than spit them out like other predators. It is believed that this is how they replenish the calcium supply in the body.

Despite several cases of attacks on people, this species of shark is considered harmless to humans. But she can bite off a piece of meat.