Rare sleeper shark filmed in Antarctic waters for the first time

Scientists have recorded the first known footage of a sleeper shark in Antarctic waters, marking a rare sighting in one of the coldest regions on Earth.

The shark was spotted by Jessica Kolbusz, an oceanographer at the Minderoo-University of Western Australia Deep-Sea Research Center, while conducting research in the Southern Ocean off the South Shetland Islands near Antarctica, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Shark sightings this far south are extremely uncommon due to the frigid water temperatures. Of the roughly 500 known shark species worldwide, only five have previously been recorded in the Southern Ocean.

First sleeper shark filmed in the Southern Ocean

The unidentified sleeper shark was filmed swimming 490 meters, or around 1,608 feet, below the surface in waters measuring 1.27°C, approximately 34°F.

“It was surprising since this is the first footage obtained of a somniosidae or any elasmobranch in the Southern Ocean,” Kolbusz said, per ABC.

In the footage, the shark slowly moved into view before darting away from the camera.

Kolbusz said the exact species could not be confirmed from the video alone, as sleeper shark species share similar physical features. Water samples were collected for DNA testing to help determine its identity.

Sleeper sharks, members of the Somniosidae family, are known for their mottled skin and relatively small fins. The group includes species such as the Greenland sleeper shark, which is believed to live for hundreds of years, the Pacific sleeper shark, and the Southern sleeper shark.

Kolbusz also recorded another sleeper shark sighting in early 2025 in the Tonga Trench in the southwest Pacific Ocean. That shark was filmed at a depth of 1,400 meters, or about 4,593 feet, in 2.5°C waters while biting bait attached to a camera, giving researchers a close look inside its mouth.

The Antarctic sighting adds to a small but growing number of documented shark encounters in the Southern Ocean, where extreme cold has historically limited confirmed observations.