Researchers Film First-Ever Sleeper Shark in Antarctic Waters

Researchers from the Minderoo‑UWA Deep‑Sea Research Centre recorded what some outlets describe as the first on‑camera sighting of a sleeper shark in Antarctic waters.

“February 18, 2026 / 4:51 AM EST/ AP Melbourne, Australia— An ungainly barrel of a shark cruising languidly over a barren seabed far too deep for the sun's rays to illuminate was an unexpected sight”

CBS News

The footage was captured in January 2025 and shared alongside news reports.

CBS News

It was taken off the South Shetland Islands roughly 70 miles (120 km) north of the Antarctic Peninsula at about 1,609 feet (490 m) depth in near‑freezing water.

PetaPixel reports the team called the sighting "unexpected."

CBS News and CNN frame the clip as a rare January 2025 recording that challenges prior assumptions about shark presence in the region.

The Times of India labels the encounter "a rare first" and notes the video was shared with the story, underscoring both novelty and verifiability.

Footage and accompanying reports describe a large, slow-moving sleeper shark, often characterized as 'barrel-shaped' or 'lumbering', estimated at about 10-13 feet (3-4 m) long, passing a camera over a barren seafloor at roughly 1,608-1,609 feet (~490 m).

Reported water temperatures are near-freezing, about 34-34.3°F (1.27°C), and the animal appeared well adapted to the cold.

CNN

Multiple outlets quote researcher Alan Jamieson and Minderoo's team on the unexpected nature of the find, and the Daily Express US relays Jamieson calling the specimen 'a hunk of a shark.'

Scientists and commentators framed the sighting in different ways.

“An awkward, barrel-shaped shark gliding slowly across a desolate ocean floor, far too deep for sunlight to penetrate, presented an unexpected discovery”

Daily Express US

Many outlets highlighted surprise and the challenge to assumptions that sharks were absent from Antarctic waters.

Some sources combined that surprise with caution about over-interpretation.

PetaPixel and Daily Express emphasized the unexpected nature and the researchers' astonishment.

ZME Science offered possible explanations including climate-driven range shifts or poor surveying of remote mid-depths.

ZME and other outlets urged caution because the data were limited.

ZME Science notes footage showing a skate on the seafloor that remained unbothered as the shark glided by.

The outlet also describes how a sloping seabed could host a slightly less harsh layer that helps conserve energy for a large, slow predator.

Los Angeles Times

PetaPixel and CBS highlight the shark’s lumbering or ungainly appearance over a barren seabed.

Those visual notes inform hypotheses about adaptation to cold, low-energy habitats and why such animals might occupy mid-depth slopes.

Reporting across outlets converges on the discovery’s value for prompting more deep‑sea observation, but they differ on how strongly to read it as evidence of change.

“A sleeper shark has been captured on camera for the first time in the icy depths of Antarctica, surprising experts who thought sharks didn’t dwell in the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean”

PetaPixel

The Times of India highlights the discovery's potential to "expand understanding of Antarctic marine biodiversity and the value of continued deep‑sea observation."

PetaPixel

ZME Science raises climate‑shift as one possible explanation but urges caution given limited data.

PetaPixel and CBS emphasize the unexpected nature of the find and the research team's prior deep‑sea work as context for continued exploration.