The angelshark is a master of disguise that has been hunted to near extinction.

Nature · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Resembling a ray more than a typical shark, the common angelshark is a sedentary ambush predator that spends its days buried in the seafloor. Once abundant across the Mediterranean and Atlantic, this unique species has suffered catastrophic population declines due to the expansion of commercial bottom-trawling fisheries since the 1890s.

The common angelshark, Squatina squatina, is a cartilaginous fish defined by its flattened, batoid-like body and large pectoral fins. Unlike pelagic sharks that rely on constant motion, these creatures are nocturnal bottom-dwellers. They spend their daylight hours camouflaged in sand or mud, waiting for bony fish, crustaceans, or mollusks to drift within striking distance. Their hunting mechanism is highly specialized: they use negative pressure to rapidly suck prey into their extensible jaws, a strategy that requires them to remain stationary for long periods.

Historically, these sharks were so prevalent that fishermen created specialized nets to target them. However, the introduction of steam-powered trawlers in the 1890s marked a turning point. Because angelsharks are sedentary and inhabit the same depths as demersal fisheries, they are exceptionally vulnerable to being caught as bycatch. Over the last 50 years, their populations have plummeted across their historical range, which once stretched from Scandinavia to Mauritania. They are now considered extirpated from the Black Sea, the North Sea, and parts of the Mediterranean, with the Canary Islands serving as one of the few remaining strongholds.

The species faces a slow recovery due to its reproductive biology. Females give birth to live young after a gestation period of 8 to 12 months, with litter sizes ranging from 7 to 25 pups. They operate on a two or three-year reproductive cycle, making them slow to rebound from overutilization. In 2016, NOAA Fisheries officially listed the common angelshark as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Despite this protection, the species remains at risk because the demersal fisheries that drove their decline continue to operate in the coastal and continental shelf habitats where these sharks reside.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• Catsharks are not cats, but these bottom-dwelling predators possess some truly bizarre survival strategies.
• The Mediterranean's ghost population: a 3-million-year-old lineage of apex predators
• The Mediterranean's apex predators are being replaced by ghosts and giants
• Why are these migratory, torpedo-shaped predators known as the garbage cans of the sea?
• Why the once-abundant oceanic whitetip shark is now a threatened species
• The armored tank of the dinosaur world was a slow, low-slung herbivore
• This crow-sized dinosaur was a four-winged, shaggy-feathered creature that likely could not fly.
• Why these tiny lizards are the ultimate masters of territorial display and survival
• The shieldless wonders: why these ancient jawless fish defy simple classification
• The flashlight fish uses living bacteria to light up the dark ocean depths
• Worm lizards are not worms, but they might be the world's most successful stowaways.
• The bizarre, bipedal, three-toed beasts that once roamed the islands of ancient Europe

More in Vertebrates · More in Nature · Latest · A–Z · All topics