Dwarf Gulper Shark

About the Dwarf Gulper Shark

The Dwarf Gulper Shark, sometimes referred to as the Blackfin Gulper Shark, is native to the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. They can be found anywhere from the Gulf of Aden (near the East African coast) to northern Papua New Guinea.

They are deep water sharks found at depths of 150-450 meters. Female Dwarf Gulpers can grow up to 78cm in length, whereas males are smaller and only have a maximum recorded length of 60cm. These sharks are ovoviviparous, which means that they produce eggs, but these remain inside the female until they are fully developed, and then there is a live birth. They usually only have one pup at a time.

These mysterious sharks were only discovered in the early 20th century and there is still relatively little information available about the size of the population and their behaviours. They probably eat other deep sea dwellers, like crustaceans, shrimps, squids and jellyfish. Due to their elusive nature, it’s difficult to assess the vulnerability of this species that are fished for their meat and valuable liver oil, mostly in Japan.

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