The Greenland Shark

Sharks live in almost every part of the oceans, from coastal environments to deep-sea habitats.   They also live in the warm waters of the tropics to the cold frigid waters of


the polar region.   The Greenland shark, also known as “somniousus Microcephalus,” lives in the dark, cold waters of the North Atlantic (I 65).   The Greenland shark belongs to the order Squaliforms, more usually known as dogfish sharks.   There are 70 species in this order, which includes the spied sharks, spiny dogfish, Sleeper sharks and lantern fish (I 50).


Greenland Shark Classification:


Kingdom: Anamalia


Phylum: Cordates (possessing a notochord)


Sub Phylum: Vertebrates (possessing a back bone)


Super Class: Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates)


Class: Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous   skeleton)


Subclass: Elasmobranchas (ribbon like gills)


Super Order: Selachii or Selachimopha (shark shaped)


Order: Sqauliforms


Family: Sqaulidea


Species:   somniousus Microcephalus


(I 185)


The shark’s habitat largely depends on the water temperature this allows its


habitat that ranges from the Polar latitudes to the North Sea in the east and the St. Lawrence River in the West.   The Greenland shark has also wonders south as far as the


waters off Cape Hatteras and has also been found in the Gulf of Maine.   The shark usually lives in cool water ranging from 2-7deg Celsius (II 63). However the sharks has also been found in the waters in the Artic Circle.   (I 65)   Typically the Greenland sharks live at extreme depths.   In the winter months the Greenland sharks can be found at the surface and at the edges of ice burgs and glaciers. The sharks will also enter fjords during these months.   However in the warmer months of summer, the sharks dives back to depths and lives at an average depth of 100-400 fathoms and has been caught in water as deep as 600 fathoms (II 63).   Depending on...