Advertisement
Internet Culture

Glow-in-the-dark sharks are the highlight of Shark Week

Stepping away from its usual nightmare fuel, Shark Week gives us fun science about sharks of the deep.

Photo of Aja Romano

Aja Romano

Article Lead Image

After coming under fire for its factual inaccuracies and increasingly hyperbolic portrayal of earth’s most misunderstood predator, Shark Week took a different approach to last night’s special. “Alien Sharks” took a look at the many bizarre and little-known sharks of the deep, including many that have only recently been identified. 

Featured Video

These include bioflourescent sharks—yes, that’s literally sharks that glow-in-the-dark.

https://twitter.com/DanRichard/status/618431072771117056

Advertisement

And the megamouth shark, so named, because, well.

(Sorry, this embed was not found.)
Advertisement

Then there’s this guy, the kind you don’t want to meet in a dark trench alone at night.

Advertisement

This cute little sea predator.

Advertisement

And these guys.

Advertisement

In other words, ALIEN SHARKS.

Advertisement

The best part of all is that Shark Week didn’t have to indulge in gimmicks or scare tactics to get viewers interested in these creatures. I mean, obviously.

Advertisement

In fact, the episode was a notable departure from recent Shark Weeks, in that it was filled with science, research, and a close-up look at teams:

Advertisement

Advertisement

https://twitter.com/mcmsharksxx/status/618413724764884992

Advertisement

https://twitter.com/WarrenSalem/status/618295770412793857

Above all, the Alien Shark episode emphasized conservation and protection of these valuable species—an all too often-overlooked message considering humans kill 100 million sharks each year, mainly due to the brutal and inhumane practice of shark finning.

Too grim for you? No worries, you can still enjoy your yearly round of fin-tertainment—just in time for tonight’s episode, “Bride of Jaws.” And if that’s not enough, tomorrow brings us “Ninja Sharks.” 

I, for one, welcome our new alien ninja shark overlords.

Advertisement

Screengrab via NatGeo/YouTube

 
The Daily Dot