Science

These Sharks Live in an Active Volcano

Sleeper sharks off the Solomon Islands are a Bond villain's wet dream.

National Geographic / Youtube

A new contender emerges for title of “Most Metal Underwater Habitat” with the discovery of a group of sleeper sharks living in an underwater, active volcano off the Solomon Islands.

Sleeper sharks, which can grow up to 23 feet long, swim soundlessly and are rarely seen in their native Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Just spotting them was a shock to a research team, never mind that they inhabited an environment that could explode at any second.

The team, led by University of Rhode Island Ph.D. student Brennan Phillips, sent a video camera down into the ocean after noticing volcano activity earlier this year. As Phillips told National Geographic, the find stirs a fistful of new questions, like whether the sharks have some sort of early warning system if the volcano is on the verge of eruption, or whether the ocean is just littered with shark parts in the aftermath.

Check out their footage, preferably with Dethklok’s ‘Go Into the Water’ on backing track for the full effect.

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