Australian fishermen captured a swordfish while fishing for tuna. However, it was a rare find because the fish was covered with strange holes all over its body.
Bizarre Swordfish With Holes
TK Offshore Fishing shared a clip of one of their fishing escapades on YouTube. A scene in the footage featured a huge swordfish covered with holes in its body.
Captain T.K. Walter said the holes were wounds from a diminutive attacker - the cookiecutter shark. While the latter's name sounds sweet, like a treat, they aren't innocent.
The foot-and-a-half-long shark latched onto a bigger prey with their suction lips and dug in with razor-sharp teeth. They then spin their bodies to gouge out the flesh they latched on.
Walter explained in the video that the cookiecutter sharks have a "fearsome set of triangle teeth." They race and grab a hunk of meat from the prey. However, their bite is not fatal, so the victim survives, and they are considered parasites and not predators.
He noted, however, that based on the swordfish's look, it was a victim of a pack attack.
He spoke with Newsweek about the strange swordfish and told the outlet that those parasites made more than a snack on the swordfish. He exclaimed that the latter was "savaged."
One netizen commented that there was a stabbing point in the middle of each wound, indicating a cutler or octopus wound. The netizen named Jeff also noted that they have barbs in the center of the cups to hook onto prey and bite like wounds with their grip.
Walter doubled down on his take that the culprits were cookiecutter sharks. He replied to Jeff's comment, insisting that they were cookiecutter bites, which are common and unmistakable.
What Are Cookiecutter Sharks?
One of the most intriguing sharks in the water, the cookiecutter shark, never gets larger than 18 to 20 inches (50 to 60 cm). Its habit of chewing off tiny pieces of much larger creatures gives it its common name, per Oceana.
Small in size, this species spends most of its time in the deep water column (mesopelagic). Since it is challenging to study, little is known about its particular habitat, but it has been collected or observed in various locations worldwide, most notably in tropical to temperate latitudes.
The cookiecutter shark is a parasite that feeds off larger creatures without harming them. It utilizes its strong, triangular bottom teeth to scoop out a mouth-sized chunk of meat (or blubber) and its thick, strong upper teeth to grab onto the skin of a much larger shark, bony fish, or marine mammal.
Numerous animals have been seen with one or more scars left by these sharks, including bluefin tuna, great white sharks, spinner dolphins, and other huge predators. Swordfish are among them.
Like other sharks, cookiecutter sharks experience many tooth losses during their existence. This procedure guarantees they will always have strong, healthy teeth that allow them to eat using their preferred method. However, cookiecutter sharks appear to swallow their lost teeth, unlike other species, deliberately.
Some experts think that's because they dwell in the deep, nutrient-poor water column. They could recycle the calcium and other components vital to tooth formation by swallowing the comparatively larger teeth.
The light organs that cover these sharks are probably utilized for either communication or concealment. Cookiecutter sharks are virtually always in the dark since they feed more on the surface at nightfall and in greater depths during the day.
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