Angel Shark

Image: Philippe Guillaume via Flickr

Sometimes it's good to be a land animal. Especially a reasonably sizeable one. Take the beach for example. We can go there and play in the sand, build our castles and frolic under the Sun in near total safety. Sure you might get sunburnt or find grains of sand in your hair for days to come, but you probably won't get eaten. I mean, imagine if you were just walking along the seaside and a massive patch of sand reared up, its rapacious mouth ablaze with hunger as it gobbled you up. That would be horrible!

Well then. Spare a thought for the little fish that dwell beyond the lapping waves. For here is where the Angel Shark lurks.

Angel Sharks look like scarcely more than a pile of sand. Not even a big pile, because they're flattened like no other shark and have large pectoral fins such that they look much more like a ray. They also have a spotted colouration for camouflage and will even bury themselves in the sand just to make sure. At this point they are really difficult to see, even though most of the 20 or so species reach about 1.5 m (5 ft) in length and a few even more.

Image: Wikipedia

At this point they pretty much just relax. They can remain motionless for days, an apparent devotee to the art of idleness. Of course, a genus of sharks with representatives across the tropical and temperate world can't really be doing nothing at all! Especially when some Angel Sharks are known to be very selective of their resting place, preferring areas where the sandy floor meets the reef. These are busy areas where fish come and go between foraging for food in the open and seeking refuge among rocks.

No. The Angle Shark is waiting. Hidden in plain view, waiting.

When a fish or squid wanders by, the Angel Shark is finally roused to action. The front half of the body suddenly bends upward, jaws open and extend forward, prey is sucked in and needle-like teeth ensure a strong grip on slippery customers. It all happens with incredible speed, the sluggish Angel Shark brutally revealing her deepest passions.

It's not long before before surviving fish learn to avoid the area. The Angel Shark must now seek out new hunting grounds, merge into the terrain and... wait.

Dear Reader Chloë Langley asked if Angel Sharks are as angelic as Sea Angels. The answer appears to be yes! They're both monstrous and the Angel Shark is clearly all shark!

Image: Nordictiger via Flickr

Apparently, there's an Angel Shark here! Can you see the tail on the top right? They're not known for aggression, so divers are usually safe if they swim by without interfering with them. Phew!