Bloating Shark: A Pot-Bellied, Absurd, and Peaceful Fish (8 photos)
Deception is a great survival tactic when you're just a small fish in a big ocean. A clever trick can save a life or even kill an enemy. But the inflating shark doesn't seem to understand the metaphor and is literally deceiving! 
Yeah, that 25th dumpling was definitely too much...
This shark doesn't fit the typical ideas about bloodthirsty toothy predators at all. Its size is modest - up to a meter in length. There are no rows of sharp-pointed stakes sticking out of its mouth. And the flat shapes and camouflage coloring in gray-brown speckles make it clear: it is more afraid of you than you are of it. 
In fact, the shark does have teeth, of course. But they are so tiny that they are almost invisible in the mouth!
These fears are more than reasonable. The beaches of California, Mexico and Chile are full of hunters for tender meat: sea lions and sea lions, larger sharks. How can you save yourself in an ocean of bloodthirsty predators without spikes, teeth and armor? 
I'm a rock-rock-rock, but definitely not a shark!
Alas, we won't be able to find out for sure - the fish is silent, with its mouth full of water. And in the literal sense. The defense mechanism of the inflating shark is as simple as a brick - gulp down water/air, puff up like a balloon and hope that its belly will be wider than the scoreboard of the predatory enemy. In this state, the fish's volume doubles! This works thanks to the special structure of the stomach. There are special sphincters at its ends. By squeezing, they hold water or air until the shark decides to deflate. 
My wife said: put on sunscreen! In fact, the photo shows an inflating albino shark. A fairly rare occurrence, considering that the life of a fish depends, among other things, on its ability to camouflage itself.
If the fish is caught unawares in an open area, it pretends to be Ouroboros and bites its tail - an inflatable donut made of dense scales is too tough for many. But most often, the shark hides in coastal rocks and cliffs. In this case, it is almost impossible to pull it out of the crevice - the belly simply gets stuck in the narrow passages! 
Sometimes in the ring position, the fish, having taken on water, float to the surface.
The camouflaged carcass rests its belly on the bottom all day. But at night, the defensive trick turns into an offensive one. The shark, like a vacuum cleaner, sucks in not only water, but also prey: small fish, krill and crustaceans. 
— Do you see the shark? — No. — Neither do I. But it is there.
As dawn breaks, the fish seek shelter again. And company. Bloaters are one of the few shark species that tolerate being jostled by their own kind in a small area. Together, they lazily crawl between shelters in pleasant, silent company. But when it gets warmer, simple companions can become partners. 
Hello. I know this may sound strange. We've been lying silently next to each other for hundreds of hours, and I wanted to ask... Should we have some fry?
A pair of large, whiskered eggs emerge from this union. The female chooses the most inconspicuous place for laying eggs: in the wilds of algae or crevices of rocks. This is the only thing the expectant mother worries about. After a place for the babies is found, she leaves the bloodlines forever. At this point, the little sharks risk even biting off a snail. The mollusks gnaw through the shell and get to the nutritious yolk, sucking out all the juices. They have plenty of time for this - the eggs mature from 7 months to a year! Everything depends on the environmental conditions and water temperature. 
Shark eggs are some of the most bizarre in the animal world. They look like vacuum bags with a sealed fry inside.
If the fry survives until its birthday, it faces a problem: it needs to get out of the dense egg. Fortunately, there is a solution - "teeth" on the back! Two rows of horny teeth help the young shark to saw its way to freedom. Well, and then a free, lazy life and a complete scam awaits it!
