Viper Dogfish are usually only found around the coasts of Japan and Taiwan, or from being extracted from the bellies of other fish from various locations. Their scientific name is Trigonognathus, which is two Greek words, "trigonon" and "gnathus", which describes their triangular jaw!
One of the Viper Dogfishes most specific and interesting features are its missing muscle that's used for pulling the jaw forward. Instead of using this important muscle, it uses its hyomandibular bone! It swings down and forward in order to compensate for lack of muscle. This is actually better for the fish, as it allows it to swing its jaw both forward and backward but also side to side!!
((not his best angle)) ^^
Viper Dogfish are carnivores and love the taste of crustacean like creatures. However, because these sharks are so small (19 inches male, 21 inches female), they have to hunt for smaller prey such as bony fish and lanternfish. RIP Viper Dogfish, never got to taste the crab.
Believe it or not, the Viper Dogfish's natural predator is the Bigeye Tuna!! And I think that is very funny.
Even though we rarely ever see them, and almost never catch them, it is safe to say these sharks are not endangered and are considered the least concern according to the IUCN!!
ive decided to stop apologizing for my absence. i will come and go as i please. and, megalodon post was requested, so i whipped up a quick one. i will make a more in depth post laterrr, remind me !
The Megalodon shark is probably one of the most popular sharks out there today! Most people believe that it's a humongous shark that's bigger than ships. Alot of people believe they still exist. Unfortunately, most of these things are incorrect. Megalodons were big! They are estimated to have grown around 60 ft long, which is only around 3 times the size of a great white! They were about slightly larger than a school bus, which most are only 45 ft.
We don't actually know what the megalodon looked like! We believe it could've looked similar to the Great White, but we aren't sure. We also used to believe that the Great White was a descendent of the megalodon, but that isn't true either. It is a heavily debated topic among scientists on what the Megalodon looked like and if it really is related to the Great White.
Megalodon also means "large tooth" given that the teeth of this shark grew to 7 whole inches long! Which makes complete sense given the size of prey/predator back in those times.
Since the megalodon no longer exists, and we aren't quite sure what it looks like, I've provided you with this pretty badass and, dare I say, dapper image of a young Great White.
(also, feel free to let me know ur thoughts on the megalodon!! PLS id love to hear/read them !!)