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Natural Awakenings National

Female Sharks Found Sleeping on a Seabed

female shark sleeping on seabed

Nigel Marsh from Getty Images Pro/CanvaPro

Scientists from the University of Tasmania Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies stumbled upon thousands of female Port Jackson sharks sleeping on the seabed. The discovery was made using an underwater robot while on an expedition to Beagle Commonwealth Marine Reserve, a marine protected area off the coast of Victoria, Australia, and Tasmania. Scientists are puzzled as to why so many sharks were there and why there were only females. One theory is that they had been feasting on local scallops before heading elsewhere to lay their eggs.


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