The Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus) is a sleeper shark of the family Somniosidae, found in the North Pacific on continental shelves and slopes in Arctic and temperate waters between latitudes 70°N and 22°N and in at least two places in the western tropical Pacific near Palau and the Solomon Islands, from the surface to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) deep. The first evidence of the sharks in the western tropical Pacific emerged from a National Geographic video taken near the Solomon Islands in 2015. Its length is up to 4.4 m (14 ft), although it could possibly reach lengths in excess of 7 m (23 ft).
The average mature size is 3.65 m (12.0 ft) and 318–363 kg (701–800 lb). The largest Pacific sleeper shark verified in size measured 4.4 m (14 ft) long and weighed 888 kg (1,958 lb), although it could possibly reach 7 m (23 ft) or more. In 1989, an enormous Pacific sleeper shark was attracted to a bait in deep water outside Tokyo Bay, Japan, and filmed. The shark was estimated by Eugenie Clark to be about 7 m (23 ft) long. A single unconfirmed account exists of an enormous Pacific sleeper shark that potentially measured more than 9.2 m (30 ft) long. If true, this would make the species the largest extant macro-predatory shark, and the third largest shark overall after the whale shark and the basking shark.
Pacific sleeper sharks, which are thought to be both predators and scavengers, can glide through the water with little body movement and little hydrodynamic noise, making them successful stealth predators. They feed by means of suction and cutting of their prey. They have large mouths that can essentially inhale prey and their teeth cut up any pieces that are too large to swallow. They show a characteristic rolling motion of the head when feeding. Only in Alaska has the shark's diet been studied - most sharks' stomachs contain remains of giant Pacific octopus. They are also known to feed on bottom-dwelling teleost fishes, as well as soles, flounders, Alaska pollock, rockfishes, shrimps, hermit crabs, and even marine snails. Larger Pacific sleeper sharks are also found to feed on fast-swimming prey such as squids, Pacific salmon, and harbor porpoises. The diet of the Pacific sleeper shark seems to broaden as they increase in size. For example, a 3.7-m female shark found off Trinidad, California was found to have fed mostly on giant squid. Sleeper sharks found in Alaskan waters from 2 to 3 m (6.6 to 9.8 ft) seem to feed mostly on flounder, pollock, and cephalopods, while sleeper sharks 3.3 to 4.25 m (10.8 to 13.9 ft) long seem to consume teleosts and cephalopods, as well as marine mammals. A recent study in the Gulf of Alaska suggests that sleeper sharks may prey on juvenile Steller sea lions.
Very little is known about the early life of Pacific sleeper sharks. They are believed to produce eggs that hatch inside the female's body (reproduction is ovoviviparous), but gestation time is unknown and litter sizes are thought to be about 10 pups. Its length at birth is about 42 cm (1.38 ft) or less.
