Brazilian luminous sharks: how they terrified American submariners

Looking at these small fish, it is difficult to imagine that they were a terrible nightmare of American submariners, making them think that they are dealing with new weapons of opponents. Brazilian luminous sharks repeatedly attacked submarines and inflicted damage on them, which made further swimming impossible. Today we will talk about these unusual inhabitants of the deep sea.

The Brazilian luminous shark does not differ in grandiose sizes, the length of its body is only 40-55 centimeters. These sharks belong to the genus of luminous sharks and have characteristic photophores on the body that emit intense green light. Such a device allows them to confuse the alleged victim or to escape from danger by misleading predators.

This species of sharks lives in the warm tropical waters of the oceans. They can plunge to considerable depths, making vertical migrations in the water column during the day. They usually live in flocks, but the lifestyle of Brazilian luminous sharks is poorly understood. It is believed that these sharks are an ovoviviparous species.

Brazilian luminous sharks have a specific structure of the oral apparatus, which allows them to hunt large marine animals, such as cetaceans or large sharks. They stick with their lips to the chosen victim and gnaw the body bushes with their teeth. A similar tactic was called optional ectoparasitism in biology. Characteristic wounds remain on the victim’s body after their bites. But Brazilian luminous sharks feed not only on parts of large animals, they also prey on smaller representatives of marine fauna, eating them whole. These sharks are usually hunted in large flocks.

Despite the fact that this species, due to its small size, is recognized as not dangerous to humans, several cases of suction of these sharks to humans have been recorded.

As for the history of the U.S. Navy submarines, this is a real historical fact. The Brazilian luminous sharks showed great interest in the submarines and even attacked them. In the 70-80s of the last century, sharks damaged the coating of sonar sensors and rubberized cables that were attached to the body. As a result of the injuries sustained, the boat was not able to fulfill its combat functions. For a long time, American submariners thought that the opponents invented new weapons that could quietly disable sonar equipment. This continued until significant changes were made to the design of the submarines, which made them invulnerable to the Brazilian luminous sharks. Cables of underwater communications, to which toothy predators are not indifferent, also suffer from this type of shark.