Black Laceweaver vs Cigar shark

Amaurobius ferox compared with Isistius brasiliensis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank Black Laceweaver Cigar shark
Kingdom same Animalia (Animals) Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) Chordata (Chordates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids) Elasmobranchii
Order Araneae (Araneae) Squaliformes (Squaliformes)
Family Amaurobiidae Dalatiidae
Genus Amaurobius Isistius
Species Amaurobius ferox Isistius brasiliensis

Evolutionary Relationship

Black Laceweaver and Cigar shark share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Black Laceweaver

LC — Least Concern

Cigar shark

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Black Laceweaver Cigar shark
Diet
Average Lifespan
Average Length
Average Weight

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Laceweaver

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, and United States.

Cigar shark

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Chile, Norway, and Taiwan.

Black Laceweaver

The Black Laceweaver (Amaurobius ferox) is a species in the genus Amaurobius. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts.

Cigar shark

The cigar shark, also known as the cookiecutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis), is a small but remarkable shark in the family Dalatiidae, found throughout warm oceanic waters worldwide in tropical and subtropical latitudes. Reaching only 40–50 centimeters in length, it possesses oversized jaws with large, triangular lower teeth arranged in a saw-like series that cut distinctive circular plugs of flesh from much larger prey—including tuna, dolphins, whales, billfish, and even submarine cables and human bodies. It does not kill its prey but instead latches on, rotates its body, and excises a characteristic cookie-cutter-shaped bite. The cigar shark is bioluminescent, emitting a green glow from photophores on its ventral surface that may serve as counter-illumination or to attract prey from below. It undertakes diel vertical migrations, ascending to shallower waters at night and descending to mesopelagic depths during the day. The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with a vast oceanic distribution and no targeted commercial fishery. It is occasionally taken as bycatch. The geographic epithet brasiliensis refers to Brazil, where early specimens were described, but the species' range is circumglobal in warm oceans. The cookiecutter shark's feeding strategy is one of the most unusual among elasmobranchs.

Nature FYI Family

Explore more of the natural world across our sister sites.

Part of the Nature FYI family — FYIPedia