The Five Most Underrated Sharks

The programmers of Shark Week has a tendency to focus on the big guns of the shark family, and who can blame them? Great whites, threshers, and assuredly extinct Megalodons are show-stealers for a reason. But they hardly represent the success of the entire Selachimorph clan in all its beautiful, occasional terrifying diversity. As I see it, these five species—with their extra gills, nightmare-mouths, and bioluminescence—have been under-appreciated for too long.

Cow Sharks

Cow sharks are living time capsules. Consisting of four species in three genera, they bear a striking resemblance to their Jurassic forebears, having barely evolved any specialized adaptations since that period. They lack the dorsal fin so emblematic of other sharks, but make it up with extra gills—two more than the standard five. Most of their time is spent in deep ocean waters, but they occasionally congregate in shallower waters, such as the kelp forests of Cape Town.

Spotted Wobbegong

The spotted wobbegong took a hint from the shark family's sister group, the rays, and evolved into an ultra-camouflaged mobile carpet. They roam around the Asian Pacific, often venturing so close to the shore that they are barely submerged. Though they max out at around 10 feet long, they aren't particularly dangerous to humans. Still, they will bite if provoked, and are known to be stubborn about letting go.

Greenland Shark

Greenland sharks are about the size of great whites, and are among the largest of the sleeper shark family. They live farther north than any other shark, and have a rather incredible trick up their sleeves: Greenland sharks have developed a biological antifreeze to help them survive the frigid temperatures. Their flesh is also poisonous, which reportedly can have an intoxicating (in a bad way) effect when eaten raw.

The lack of competition from other predators allows for their diverse diet, which includes fish, seals, polar bears, horses, and in one case, an entire reindeer. The ratio of its scavenged meals to its fresh kills is up for debate, but swallowing a whole deer is impressive either way.

Frilled Shark

Like the cow shark, the frilled shark is ancient, and its strikingly bizarre appearance makes it a likely candidate for sea serpent rumors over the centuries. It has an enormous mouth equipped with 300 teeth, which are used less as lacerators and more like pins to hang on to its captured prey, which can include cephalopods, fish, and smaller sharks.. Among its many other odd adaptations include the frilled gills after which it's named, and a gestation period of up to 3.5 years—the longest of any vertebrate.

Cookiecutter Shark

The ambush attack style of the great white is visually stunning, but it's not for everybody. The cookiecutter shark opted for a more moderate hunting strategy. Using its suction-cup mouth to attach itself to a larger fish, such as a tuna or marlin, it neatly cleaves a chunk of flesh from its prey with its bandsaw of a jaw. It attracts its mobile meals with a bioluminescent belly that resembles a small fish from below. This is definitely one of the creepier bait-and-switch moves ever to grace the oceans.

There are at least 400 species of shark prowling the waves, each with its own ingenious variation on the same body plan. Their size ranges from the 8 inch lanternshark to the 40 foot whale shark. They are found in deep trenches, shallow shores, Arctic seas, even freshwater. Some have decided to try being warmblooded. The great white is truly great, but it is far from the only success story in the family.