Journal Article
Two’s company: first record of two free-swimming megamouth sharks, Megachasma pelagios (Lamniformes: Megachasmidae), off the California coast
Zachary R. Skelton; Dovi Kacev; Benjamin W. Frable; Andrew Chang; Valentin Costescu; David Stabile; David A. Ebert
Environmental Biology of Fishes · Vol. 106, Issue 4 · pp. 717-724 · 2023
Abstract
On September 11, 2022, two megamouth sharks ( Megachasma pelagios ), estimated at 3.7–4.6 m TL, were observed swimming together near the surface about 39 km off the coast of San Diego, CA, USA. Megamouth sharks are rarely observed pelagic sharks, and the film from this encounter provided new insight into the social behavior of this species. We attempt to put the behavior of these two individuals into the context of past sightings, known megamouth shark biology, and with analogous behavior observed in other shark and pelagic fish species.