The Slowest Fish in The Ocean

For sure, for any of us the standard of slowness on the ground is a Sloth, who can spend several hours just to go to the toilet. And as the theory of evolution says, we all came out of the sea and we are just fish, who decided to take a chance. So, each of us have ancestor-fish somewhere in the depths of the ocean. For at least, the sloth has brother there...

Meet the slowest fish of all the seas and oceans- Greenland shark. These are the northernmost and "coldest" sharks of all. Their average speed is only 1.6 km/h, maximum of 2.7 km/h. Any other fish and mammals in the habitat of these sharks move at least twice as fast.

For comparison: the average speed of a pedestrian is 5 km / h, i.е. you can just walk away from Greenland shark.

Low ambient temperature also directly affects the growth rate of sharks, therefore, the average specimen has a length of 2.4-4.8 m. and weight not more than 400 kg.

It sounds strange, but the Greenland shark belongs to the SUPER-PREDATORS, she does not have any natural enemies, and eats almost everyone she wants. Scientists for a long time could not understand who she can catch having such a low speed. After all, appetizing seals can accelerate to 24 km / h, and other fish move with the speed of 4-5 km/h.

However, recently it has been observed that in captivity the Greenland shark hunts animals sleeping under water (For example, thus, seals are rescued from polar bears). Even for so slow shark is not difficult to quietly get close to a sleeping victim.

So remember: if you are swimming somewhere off the coast of Greenland, Iceland, Norway, or Northern Canada you can not be afraid of sudden attacks by sharks, the main thing is not to yawn!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=109&v=eaPhWjdz6x4

Another interesting fact: low temperature and slow way of life without nerves allowed the Greenland shark to become the most long-lived species of vertebrates. Biologists believe that these sharks can live up to 500 years. So maybe we should think and live more slowly ;)