The Swell Shark

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Mr. Hunter encountered the notable sight of a soon-to-be swell shark scooting around inside its egg case, waiting to be born.  And according to this fact sheet from the aquarium, it can take between nine and twelve months for a swell shark egg to hatch.

Here's a young swell shark outside of its egg case.  

 

 

Here's a quick movie of what the unhatched swell shark looked like as it moved around in its backlit egg case:

The Aquarium of the Pacific also has a nice fact sheet about the swell shark.

Kelp Forest exhibit

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey, California

December 2012