In the oceans are many marvelous creatures fashioned
by the Almighty that continue to fascinate and astonish. The cookie
cutter shark is indeed one of these most unusual creatures that
leaves us with a sense of wonder and awe at the majesty of the
Creator. Let us look at what is known about this predator of the
world's oceans.
Among the sharks of the world are some vastly
unusual species, both large and small. The cookie cutter shark
is one of the smaller (15-20 inches) types that lives in the deep
oceans of the world. In addition, while many species of sharks
are sleek, swift, and powerful swimmers, this shark is a very
weak and slow swimmer, but that has not limited the success of
this creature because God has designed it with other special tricks
and talents.
Like many deep ocean organisms, this small shark
has cells that carry on bioluminescence, producing light like
the firefly. These light producing cells are only found on the
bottom of the shark's body which when they give off their glow
would hide the shark from predators by blending into the light
filtering down from the surface waters. This is useful against
predators that might try to attack from underneath. These cells
cover all parts of the cookie cutter's belly except for one small
area. This area is just below the mouth and is totally lacking
in any bioluminescent cells. This particular ability is not really
unique for deep sea creatures as many have it, and it is suspected
that most if not all deep sea creatures have some type of bioluminescence
of hiding. However, the cookie cutter shark's light pattern is
different from that of most organisms. The blank spot on the bottom
of its body is unique and is called counter illumination. While
other organisms do have this, most do not have the ability carried
to such an extreme extent. Some will have just small patches of
bioluminescent cells but not mostly covering the organism. What
would be the reason for this total cover except for one small
spot?
The reason for this arrangement seems to be related
to the way God designed the cookie cutter shark to get its food.
This shark seems to let its food come to it, and is that food
big! Big and fast sea creatures like tuna, swordfish, and porpoises
are its prey. How can a 15-inch shark eat a 500-pound swordfish?
Well, the design here is not to eat the whole thing but just take
bites out, and therein lies the beauty of this shark. Using the
dark patch that from below might appear to be a slow moving fish,
the large predators swim up, and, instead of getting to eat, they
end up having a melon-ball sized and shaped chunk of flesh taken
out. This is done by the cookie cutter shark with its unusual
mouth parts. The jaws of all sharks open very wide and extend
out of their mouths in order to tear off flesh, but the cookie
cutter's jaws come out farther and do produce a circular, melon-ball
shaped wound. The swift movement of the prey aids this. As the
tuna swooshes upward in an attempted attack, the shark's teeth
sink in and slide around in a curving scoop, very similar to the
action of a "melon-baller." While this wound is not
lethal, a whole school of cookie cutter sharks (which is how they
travel) would make several rather annoying injuries to the prey.
So, the cookie cutter shark uses its bioluminescent
cells to hide from, as well as to attract, its food. God has given
the cookie cutter shark amazing abilities, and it stands as evidence
of the Intelligent Designer that God is. Rt. 1 Box 116A, Belington,
WV 26250. aedeverson@yahoo.com