The cookiecutter shark is a small, cigar-shaped, deep-water shark possessing a strong jaw. However, what makes this sharks uniqueness and distinguishes it from its close relatives is the way this jaw is used. They use their strong, jointed-together teeth by biting cookie-shaped chunks off large animals such as orcas, dolphins, great white sharks, tunas…and are the only known shark to feed that way. That’s not the only extraordinary feature of the cookiecutter shark though, as they’re also able to produce green light on their belly using photophores to blend with the sun or moonlight and hide from predators. We also know they spend their days in deep waters around 1000–3700 m (3,280–12,139 ft) and undergo a vertical migration up to 85 m (279 ft) to feed every night, rarely venturing to the surface.
You can read December’s Monthly Chomp before you take the quiz or dive in at your own risk.